How to Become a Trainer: Dragon Riders
by ReptileGirl497
Summary: Hiccup and his friends have made peace with the dragons, but there are new enemies that seek to destroy that peace. Can new, powerful allies mean the difference between victory and defeat?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: How to Start a Dragon Academy

 **The beginning of the Riders of Berk series! Finally!**

 **Synopsis: Hiccup tries to train all of the dragons on the island and keep them all under control, while Snivels and Lockheed make new enemies.**

* * *

 _This is Berk._ _For generations, it was Viking against dragon. The battles were ferocious. Then one day, everything changed._

 _I met Toothless. And together we've shown people here that instead of fighting dragons, we can ride them, live with them, and even train them._

* * *

"Alright, guys," Hiccup said to his friends, landing next to them on a huge rock "island" that towered up out of the ocean. "Best trick competition. Who's up first?"

Fishlegs started to volunteer, but Snotlout butt right in. "Me!" he shouted.

"Actually," said Fishlegs timidly, "I think it's – "

"Me!" said Snotlout again, pointing to himself confidently.

"Just go!" said an impatient Astrid.

Snotlout leaned back confidently on Hookfang and said smugly, "Don't worry, we'll go. And when we go, Hookfang and I are going to light the sky on – FIRE!"

His boasting ended in a terrified scream as Hookfang suddenly leapt off of the island and dove straight down towards the water. At the last second, the Monstrous Nightmare leveled out, taking Snotlout on a winding course throughout the maze of rock spires that Toothless and Hiccup had traversed months ago.

Suddenly, after a minute of hearing Snotlout scream without stopping to catch his breath even once, Hookfang soared high into the sky, then folded in his wings and dove straight into the water like a giant red gannet.

They stayed under for about four seconds, and then they burst out of the water. Hookfang made one last circle around in the sky, and then landed in his original position beside Stormfly and Meatlug.

Hookfang settled down with a satisfied grunt, and Snotlout examined himself all over. "I'm alive?" he asked in wonderment. "I'M ALIVE!"

Everyone looked at him in amusement. "I mean, of course I am," he snapped, sitting back down on Hookfang.

"It's my turn!" said Fishlegs excitedly. "Ready, Meatlug? Here we go!" The Gronckle gurgled confidently, and then thrummed off into the sky. However, all she did was make a nice, slow circle around the island and then landed right in between Hookfang and the twins' Zippleback.

"Yes!" cheered Fishlegs. "New personal best!" He bent down to hug Meatlug, who gave him an affectionate lick on the cheek in return.

Astrid gave Hiccup a look that said "you have got to be kidding me."

"My turn!" shouted Ruffnut; eager to best the others. "No, my turn!" interjected Tuffnut, never one to pass up an opportunity to argue with his twin.

"Uh, guys?" Hiccup said in exasperation, "Same dragon." He pointed to Barf and Belch, who shared a similar sibling rivalry. "Oh, right!" Tuffnut said, eyes lighting up. He and Ruffnut bumped fists before taking off.

Their flight started smoothly enough, but before long, they got into a heated debate over which direction to turn in. Barf and Belch lost patience after their heads slammed into each other, and simultaneously bucked their riders off of them and into the air.

As they started falling, their screams reached their peak. "This is awesome and scary!" commented Tuff with a highly amusing grin on his face. Three seconds before they would have plunged into the ocean, the Zippleback made a perfect, simultaneous catch, before flinging both Ruffnut and Tuffnut back aboard.

Barf and Belch flew back in with different expressions – Barf looked annoyed while her brother simply looked pleased. "Ugh…" gasped Ruff, "We almost died."

Tuff agreed. "Yeah, I know," he panted, before sitting up and asking enthusiastically, "Go again?"

Before Ruff could agree, Astrid spoke up. "Hey, it's my turn!" Then she turned to Hiccup and smirked, "You might want to take notes."

She and Stormfly did a magnificent takeoff, then executed a string of moves that even had them impressed – first a skim across the water, then a sharp upward turn and twirl with the Nadder's wings folded across her body, then an ascending series of quick spirals into the sky. And they did this all while navigating through the rocky maze.

When they were finished, Stormfly landed beside Toothless, with Astrid smiling.

"Yeah, pretty good," said Snotlout, "But can you do it without the dragon?" That earned him a savage punch on the shoulder.

"Well, looks like we have our work cut out for us, bud," Hiccup said nonchalantly to Toothless. The Night Fury growled confidently, and then they tensed themselves for what would happen next.

They didn't just dive – Toothless jumped headfirst off of the island, spreading his wings and diving straight down at impossible speed. Face rippling slightly, Hiccup pulled hard on the saddle, and they leveled out just above the water. They flew so fast and so close, they sent up a huge spray of water behind them.

Then, it was just like old times, zooming around every obstacle in their path. But the big finish was still coming as they neared a rock arch that stood separate from the others. As they rapidly neared it, Hiccup jumped off of Toothless' saddle and landed on the arch.

He ran across it, time slowing down for him. He knew that Toothless would be able to keep flying as long as he didn't try to turn, since the stirrup's design allowed the prosthetic fin to lock in its current position.

In the time it took him to reflect on this, he reached the edge of the arch. Jumping off of it, he landed right on top of Toothless, who had flown out from underneath it to make a perfect catch. Slipping his foot back into the stirrup, they turned and he coaxed Toothless to fire several celebratory fire bursts.

"Yep, they're still the best," Hiccup heard Astrid comment, and the others just gasped and cheered. "Another win, Toothless," Hiccup said, and Toothless gurgled in a satisfied way.

* * *

 _Yep...dragons. Most people on Berk would say that life here is better since we made peace with them. Unfortunately… dragons are still, well, dragons._

* * *

Snivels and the other Pokémon had been unable to make it to the trick competition that morning, much to their own regret. They had their hands full trying to take care of all of the dragons, especially the little ones.

The team had gotten stronger over the last few months, but things weren't the same without Verne. No one had any idea where he might have flown off to, and the team was never quite whole without him.

They were walking through the village, trying to think of a way to explain to their friends why they hadn't shown up for the contest, when they all heard a noise. They turned in the direction of the sound and could see utter chaos unfolding. Again.

With dragons pretty much making themselves at home in Berk, the people were having a very hard time controlling them. Snivels and Lockheed watched as a pair of Terrible Terrors stole food from one Viking, a Nadder perched on the roof of another frustrated Viking's house, and a Monstrous Nightmare tugging a sack of fruit from yet another's grasping.

"Look out, incoming!" shouted Gobber from his forge, and suddenly the air was filled with the thrumming of a thousand dragon wings.

"Dragon poo!" shouted several Vikings, taking shelter as quickly as they could. Then, dragons of all kinds flew over the village, dropping green, boiling hot dung all over the place.

"Gross!" Blaze exclaimed, backing away from the bombs. "That's disgusting."

Snivels found himself beside a pair of older Vikings who were holding their shields over their heads like umbrellas.

"Hey, Mulch. Hey, Bucket," he greeted them with a sigh. "Every day at three," commented Bucket idly. "The regular at least. Tip of the cap."

Mulch said with regret, "Better were the days where it was killing or be killed." Then he suddenly cried out, "Hey! We got some fish for the chief! Bucket, give him the cod."

Bucket held up a torn-up sack without any fish inside of it. He looked at it, bewildered. "Did I eat it already?" he asked, totally befuddled. "Did I enjoy it?"

Snivels hastened to correct him, "Uh, no, Bucket, the, uh… dragons did." He pointed to a Nightmare and Salamence who was sitting behind a house, chewing loudly. At the sight of them, they roared and then retreated into the shadows.

* * *

 _Most of us on Berk are willing to take the good with the bad. But there are those of us who will never accept the dragons, and will do anything to drive them away._

* * *

A few minutes later, Stoick and Gobber walked up to Hiccup. He, Snivels, and Lockheed were in the middle of the mess that had been created. Suddenly, Snivels groaned and grabbed his nose. "What in the blazing name of Reshiram is that smell?" he asked.

"What smell?" asked a confused Hiccup. He certainly couldn't smell anything other than the fading remainder of dragon droppings.

"It smells like a bunch of rotten chicken eggs that have been sitting in spoiled yak milk for three days straight," Snivels groaned, still holding his nose.

Hiccup cringed. "I'm sorry I asked," he said, mostly to himself.

"Stoick!" called out a voice brimming with hostility. _Oh no..._ Hiccup thought in exasperation. He knew who the voice belonged to, of course – Mildew, his sheep Fungus, and his Banette Eldritch, who lived on the highest point on the island and who could always find something wrong or inconvenient about Berk that he always demanded Stoick to fix. It was Mildew's scent that Snivels had picked up.

"Oh, here comes Mildew with the complaint of the day," commented Gobber sarcastically. The old man, possibly older than Gothi, slowly walked up to where Stoick was standing.

"You picked a bad time, Mildew," Stoick said harshly. "I'm in the middle of storing food. The freeze is coming."

But if there was one thing that Hiccup knew about Mildew, other than the fact that he was grumpy and did his best to spread that around, he was persistent. "It's the dragons again," he snarled, "Those demons are not fit to live around civilized men."

Snivels rolled his eyes. "Neither are you, Mildew! Why'd you think they built your house so far outside of town?"

Despite himself, Hiccup chuckled at the Servine's sense of humor. Mildew spared a heated glare for Snivels before turning back to Stoick. "Very well, make your jokes. Meanwhile, these dragons are rubbing our village raw! They're reducing houses into piles of rubble! They even disturb an old man's rest! Can't you see these bags under my eyes?"

Gobber and Stoick exchanged skeptical looks. Snivels scoffed lightly and muttered under his breath, "Yep, he's hideous all right."

Mildew chose to ignore that, and turned to the crowd that had gathered. "These are wild and unpredictable beasts!" he claimed. "They even cracked this man's skull like an egg." He rapped Bucket on the head with his staff, and the bucket made an audible clanging noise.

"Eggs?" said Bucket himself. "I love eggs! Scrambled, over-easy, poached!"

Stoick kept up his glare as Mildew continued, "You need to put those dragons in cages. If you don't, they'll eat us out of house and home, and destroy the entire village!"

The crowd that had gathered was yelling in agreement and anger. "They don't mean any harm," Hiccup said quietly, stepping up with Toothless at his side. "They're just dragons being dragons."

Stoick, at last, took charge. "Look, Mildew, if there's a problem, I'll deal with it."

Finally, the elderly man backed down. "Oh, there's a problem, Stoick. And I think I speak for the entire village when I say that you'd better do something about it."

"And you should do something about the way you smell!" Snivels shouted as Mildew walked away.

* * *

The entire situation was unnerving, to say the least. The dragons had only been living in the village of Berk for a couple of months. In those months, life was so much better. No raids, no hostility – OK, maybe some of that – but it had been a lot nicer than fighting to the death constantly.

Many of the Pokémon Go-Getters hadn't even met Mildew before then, but Hiccup and Astrid had told them plenty about him. Snivels had overheard even more from Stoick, who complained often about how difficult Mildew made his job.

While Stoick could certainly see that Mildew had a point about the other dragons, Snivels obviously thought otherwise. He often told them about what it was like for him to live among the dragons, learning their lifestyle and their languages. The people he once lived with, the Peaceables, had a generations-old habit of leaving the dragons alone.

Snivels always told his friends that the village was very much his second home, as much as he hated to admit it. Without the dragons, it wouldn't really be the same, especially since they had just started bonding with the dragonets from last Snoggletog.

"We can't just let dragons run around like they own the place," muttered Stoick, pacing the room. Then he seemed to get an idea. "We...we could put up signs!"

Gobber, sitting in the corner of the room while carving out what looked like a duck decoy, said skeptically, "Signs, for dragons?"

Hiccup sighed. "Not for the dragons, he means for the people."

Gobber looked even more skeptical.

Snivels piped up from his, and Lockheed's, position on the other side of the room, "Signs, for people? From what I've seen, you Vikings aren't exactly avid readers. No offense, Hiccup."

Now Stoick was beginning to look flustered. "Then we'll build a huge net and stretch it around the plaza," he said impatiently.

"Nets?" asked Gobber rhetorically, "You do know that they breathe fire, right?"

Stoick looked on the verge of giving up. "Maybe Mildew was right," he sighed, and Snivels frantically moved to change his mind. But before he could, Hiccup intervened for him.

"Wait, Dad," he said. "How about you let me take care of the dragons?" Stoick seemed surprised, whereas Snivels and his siblings were thankful for his offer.

"You?" asked Stoick in disbelief. "Who else?" Hiccup replied, as Toothless walked over to stand beside his friend. "If anyone can get the dragons under control, I can. I'm the best man for the job." As he said this, he scratched Toothless under the chin to prove his point.

"You're not a man yet, Hiccup," Stoick said bluntly.

"Not if you don't give me the chance to be!" he protested in response.

At a reassuring nod from Gobber, Stoick finally complied.

Snivels smiled to himself, confident that his friend would be able to get his comrades under control.

* * *

"Alright," Hiccup said, walking into the seemingly empty village with much confidence. "There's going to be a few changes around here." A solitary Nadder ran across his path and vanished. It seemed to have some destination in mind, so he decided to follow it.

Soon, he cornered it as it tried to steal food from a Viking. The Nadder was growing more and more agitated, so Hiccup got in between it and the Viking and said, "Easy, easy!" He placed a hand on its nose, and the dragon quickly calmed down.

"OK," he said with satisfaction. But he had spoken too soon – a flock of chickens suddenly appeared from nowhere and startled the Nadder, who went off to chase them. He quickly spotted the source of the terrified poultry – a blue Gronckle with a Sliggoo on its back was tearing its way through the village looking for food.

The situation quickly dove out of control. Dragons, Vikings, and Pokémon were running every which way, and every time he turned, it seemed as if there was someone or something that needed his help. He looked frantically round for something he could do, and finally caught sight of two dragons and their partners fighting each other in front of the barn. Several smoking sheep ran down the hills in terror.

"Toothless!" he called. "You stop that fight. I'll put out the sheep." As the Night Fury ran to do as he had been told, Hiccup raced after a sheep that had separated itself from its group.

Hiccup chased the sheep around and around the village, and just when he thought he had caught it, his jump fell short and the sheep ran right over him. He picked himself up painfully and resumed chasing the sheep.

The other teens and Pokémon, minus Snivels, were perched atop a catapult. They normally hung out there at that time of day, mostly to get away from the chaos that often happened on Berk.

"What is he doing?" Blaze asked, pointing to someone running frantically through the village. It was Hiccup, trying and failing to take care of the dragons.

"I think he's helping the dragons break stuff," said Tuffnut uncertainly.

"Cool!" smirked Ruffnut, settling down to watch.

Astrid watched the sheep run over him with a wince. "He looks like he could use our help," she said concernedly, but at the same time not sure if they should really go down there into the thick of things.

"Yeah, we'll help," Snotlout grunted.

"In a minute," Ruff finished with a sadistic grin.

Suddenly, the immense thrumming of a hundred wings overhead, and the shadows of flying dragons began to soar across the ground.

"And… it's three o'clock," muttered Astrid. She ducked her head so she wouldn't have to see what would happen next.

Fortunately, she didn't have a need to worry, because Snivels arrived just in time to get Hiccup to shelter before he could be pelted by the waste.

"Thanks," muttered a breathless Hiccup.

Snivels nodded, as if to say "Don't mention it."

* * *

"Oh, everything hurts," complained Hiccup that night as he was settling in for a well-deserved night's rest. "Even this," he added, pointing to his prosthetic.

Toothless snorted and gently nudged his rider encouragingly. Hiccup just smiled and nudged the dragon back.

All of a sudden, there was a voice that came from downstairs. The house consisted of two levels - there was the main floor, and then there was a staircase that led up to Hiccup's room. Stoick generally slept on the couch near the fire pit, where it was warm. Brumous also slept downstairs, near the door where the cool night breeze could blow through his fur.

"Hiccup?" called the voice, echoing up the staircase.

He recognized the voice instantly. "Astrid?" he replied, even as the sound of footsteps began to travel up to his level. "Perfect," he muttered bitterly. "I don't look too beat up, do I?"

Toothless raised his head and tilted it, looking more amused than sympathetic.

"Great," Hiccup said sarcastically, and physically drooped a little. "Dragon pity."

He turned around and, immediately, saw Astrid walking up the dark stairwell and into the light of the candles he had lit. "Oh hey, Astrid! What a nice surprise!" he greeted her with false delight.

She gave him a smile and folded her arms across her chest. "So, how was your day?" she asked.

"Oh, uneventful," Hiccup said dismissively. "Hung around the plaza...you know."

"Yeah, I do know," replied Astrid. "We saw you out there. It's hard to believe you're still standing."

Hiccup dropped all attempts to stay cool and flopped down on his wooden bed with a groan. "I'm going to be seeing smoking sheep in my dreams for the next month," he complained.

"Well, it could've been worse," said Snivels from his place in the corner. "At least you didn't get covered in dung, thanks to yours truly."

"HICCUP!" came Stoick's voice, followed by his and Brumous's characteristic heavy footsteps. "What's going on out there?" he asked when they had entered. "The plaza looks like a war zone!" His Beartic grunted in agreement.

Hiccup hastily tried to calm his father down. The last thing he wanted was for the dragons to be caged up and shipped off. He began, "I know this looks bad..."

" _Really_ bad," Astrid whispered.

"But," he forged on, "This is only, uh, Phase One of my...master plan."

Now Stoick looked curious and somewhat surprised. "So...you _do_ have a plan."

"Of course I do!" exclaimed Hiccup emphatically. "It's very...complex, with lots of drawings and, um, several large, moving parts...Yeah, it's, uh, pretty wild." He grinned sheepishly, ignoring Astrid's stare. Stoick stared at him as well, for a long time.

This had better be real," the chief finally said, "Because Mildew has stirred up the whole island. If you don't get these dragons under control, they'll be calling for their heads."

When Stoick and Brumous had left, their heavy footsteps growing fainter as they thudded down the steps, Toothless gave Hiccup a desperate glance.

"Don't worry," Hiccup assured him. "Your head isn't going anywhere."

"You do realize," Astrid interjected, "That there are, like, a _bazillion_ dragons out there and only _one_ of you? I hope you really _do_ have a plan."

Truth be told, Hiccup didn't have a plan - but he was starting to get one.

* * *

 **What'cha think?**

 **Review, follow, and favorite!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: New Beginning

 **I know what you guys might be thinking. How will this be any different from the original series? Just wait, it gets better!**

* * *

Even Hiccup thought that his plan was a little crazy. But what other choice did they have? Letting Mildew get his way and having the dragons caged and sent away? No, they couldn't allow that.

So that's why they were in the old arena, the one that hadn't seen any action since the whole Monstrous Nightmare incident. The Pokémon and dragons were there too. Even the Speed Stingers were there.

"Train dragons?" asked Ruffnut skeptically, "Here? Where we used to kill them?" Hiccup slapped a hand to his face. He knew that everyone would question this. "Right," he explained with some exasperation, "Because we don't do that anymore."

Astrid looked hesitant. "I don't know," she said nervously, "The dragons do look a little edgy." Indeed, as Hiccup looked around the arena, he could see the dragons fidgeting and shuffling their claws, clearly on edge.

"That's because they're really sensitive," said Snivels, matter-of-factly.

"Meatlug especially," added Fishlegs. He put a hand to his mouth and said quietly, "She and Goodra lost some cousins here a few years ago. We try not to talk about it."

"You're talking about it right now," Blaze pointed out.

Walking up to him from Stormfly's side, Astrid said to Hiccup, "I can't believe your dad just gave us the arena!" She sounded very impressed and surprised, but...it didn't actually happen like that.

"Yeah, it would be great if he did," Hiccup said, "But he didn't, so that's something else we probably shouldn't talk about." Now Astrid's brow furrowed with suspicion. "So...we're going behind his back," she said accusingly. "There you go, talking about it!" Hiccup replied, stepping away from her. Blaze rolled her eyes.

Hiccup walked a pace or two toward the group. "Look, everyone, here's the thing. The dragons are out of control. We want them to live in our world without destroying it, but they can't without our help. They've been blowing things up in the village – we have to do something about that."

Ruff and Tuff were enthusiastic, but we soon found out why. "Right, we got this," said Tuff confidently. "Help dragons blow things up!" Ruff immediately began planning. "Here's how we're going to do it. First, we get them really, really angry."

Tuff scoffed. "That'll be easy. We anger everybody."

Blaze had had enough. "Guys, this is serious!" she protested. "Mildew wants all of our dragons caged. I don't know about you, but that isn't okay with me."

The twins quieted, and Hiccup spoke up again. "OK, next problem. The dragons are eating everything in sight. Now, when a dragon grabs something it's not supposed to have," – he demonstrated by waving a loaf of bread near Toothless' nose, and he eagerly snapped it up – "You can get him to drop it by giving him a gentle scratch below the chin." He did so, and Toothless obediently dropped the loaf.

Snotlout walked up and snatched the bread from Hiccup's hand. "Maybe that works for you and Toothless," he said smugly, "But Hookfang and me – we do things a little different."

He tossed the bread, and Hookfang caught it before anyone could react. Snotlout continued, "When I want this big boy to do something, I get right up in his face and yell – DROP THAT RIGHT NOW! YOU HEAR ME?!"

Several people flinched at the sudden noise, but Hookfang just got annoyed. He spat out the bread and seized Snotlout in his jaws headfirst. "See, he dropped it," he said, voice muffled.

Tuffnut chuckled. "Uh, should we help him?" he asked. Astrid folded her arms in a satisfied way and said, "Yeah. In a minute." Snivels chuckled. "You just read my mind."

Trying to get everyone back on track, Hiccup said loudly, "Alright, we have a lot of training to do!" He fished out two more loaves of bread from his basket. "But if we work together, we can get these dragons under control."

Everyone gathered around to grab a loaf, even the Pokémon. It seemed that even they wanted to do their part to help control Snivels's wild comrades.

"Uh, can someone do that chin-scratchy thing?" asked Snotlout, still being held in Hookfang's jaws. "You guys still there?!"

* * *

When they walked into the plaza to start their jobs, Snivels immediately knew something was wrong. They were all eager to try out the things they learned in the Arena earlier, and do their part to calm the dragons and keep them in line.

But there was one problem. There were no dragons in sight.

"Hmm, no dragons," murmured Fishlegs in bewilderment. "That was easy," Ruff said, "Lunch?"

"That's weird," Hiccup said, almost to himself. "If the dragons aren't here, then where are they?"

His question was answered by a huge explosion that came from higher up on the island. He felt that sinking feeling when he saw flames leaping from the warehouse where we stored our food. "Something tells me...that way," Astrid said unnecessarily as they ran to investigate.

Snivels quickly ran ahead of them, and gasped at what he saw.

It was worse than any of them had imagined. Dragons were everywhere, making off with every scrap of food they had gathered over the months. Vikings were shouting and chasing the dragons, desperate and angry.

"Stormfly?" asked Astrid, scarcely able to believe it. Her Nadder was among the dragons eating from the piles of fish. She glanced over at the sound of Astrid's voice and looked at her guiltily.

"Dragonfly?" Blaze said with the same level of surprise. The Trapinch was eating a basket full of feed, along with a few other Pokémon.

Hiccup raced inside the warehouse, only to see his father clearing out a huge load of rubble. The mess was far worse inside than it was outside. "They've eaten everything!" exclaimed Stoick. "We have nothing left for the freeze!"

Suddenly, Mildew, Fungus, and Eldritch were there. "I warned you, Stoick," said the old man menacingly, "But did you listen? No, you put a bunch of teenagers in charge!" He turned around to glare at Hiccup and continued, "Look what the dragons have done now! Caging is too good for those beasts."

Hiccup protested with everything he had. "Dad, I swear to Odin that I can fix this. We were just starting to - "

Again, he was cut off. "Enough Hiccup. How can I trust you to control all the dragons when you couldn't even control your own?" The chief gestured to one of the last piles of fish left behind. A certain Night Fury was there happily munching on the fish.

"Toothless?" Hiccup asked in pure disbelief.

Stoick picked up several baskets and hurled them at Mulch and Bucket. "You two, man the boats! We need another catch!"

Mulch looked resigned. "It's no use, Stoick," he said. "It took us six months to catch all that fish."

Stoick fiercely said to him, "Don't tell me it's too late! We have to try."

Chuckling nervously, Mulch whispered to Bucket, "Don't tell the chief it's too late. You're always so negative." Bucket replied innocently, "I don't know what it is with me."

As the two of them meandered off, Hiccup gave it his best try as well. "Dad, please! I can fix this! I know dragons better than almost anyone!"

But did he listen? No.

"Not now, Hiccup," he said. "I have a village to feed. The dragons have done enough damage. By tonight, I want every one of them caged."

Hiccup looked at him helplessly. Mildew stumbled over and growled. "You can't just cage these dragons! You need to send them away now!" The angry mob behind him clearly agreed.

"You're right, Mildew," Stoick said, both harshly and sadly. "We'll cage them tonight, and in the morning, Hiccup will send them off the island." He looked at Hiccup with genuine concern. "I'm sorry, son."

Then, he walked away, leaving a very disturbed group of teens and Pokémon behind.

* * *

The gang all sat that night at the same table, picking at their food. Neither of them could eat a thing. They didn't want to believe that the dragons would be banished from Berk forever, so soon after they had been newly accepted.

"I can't believe we have to send them away," fumed Snotlout, sulking in his own blunt way. Heat was upset too. He had just gotten the hang of riding on his new Salamence friend. "It's going to be weird," murmured Astrid. "I've gotten used to Stormfly's face being the first thing I see every morning." Blaze looked over at the soup her friend was playing with, and saw that the swirling liquid had formed the shape of a dragon.

"Every night before I go to sleep, Meatlug used to lick my feet," Fishlegs sniffled, much to the dismay of the twins. "Who's going to do that now?!" he wailed, throwing himself down onto the table and making the meals jump.

"I volunteer Tuffnut!" said Ruff brightly, but her sadness was still poorly disguised by the false cheeriness. "Whatever," her brother grumbled, for once without argument, "What time should I be there?" The Nidos, who were usually fighting, just grumbled In disappointment. They had just gotten used to Zweilous.

"Come on, guys," Astrid said sadly, standing up from her unfinished meal, "Let's get this over with."

"This is the worst day of my life..." Fishlegs murmured.

Snivels was beyond worried. Who would take care of Lockheed? The two of them had gotten so close.

"We can't let this happen," said Hiccup, staying behind with Toothless, Amber, and the others. "Toothless is the best friend I ever had." He reached down to pet the Night Fury, who opened his eyes and gurgled contentedly.

Footsteps suddenly sounded, and they all turned. It was Mildew, carrying a bowl of soup. "Oh, Toothless, I'm going to miss you so much," he said regretfully, although the regret was obviously fake. Amber and the other Pokémon scowled in hatred, Amber even snarling a bit. Oh, how much they wanted to tear the ugly hermit to pieces!

"You know what your mistake was?" Mildew was asking Hiccup. "Thinking dragons could be trained! A dragon's gonna do what a dragon's gonna do. It's their nature – and nature always wins." He stalked away, whistling a cheerful tune.

Toothless growled at the old man's retreating back. He opened the doors to the Great Hall, allowing a fearsome, chilly wind to blast through and put out the central fire. The Night Fury's growl became a concerned warble, and he quickly restarted the fire with a bolt of flame shot from his mouth. "Thank you, Toothless," said a passing Viking, nodding to them as she passed.

A look of dawning comprehension suddenly crossed Hiccup's face. "You know what?" he asked Amber, or he might not have asked anyone, "Mildew's absolutely right!"

At first Amber was quite shocked and confused, then comprehension dawned on her as well. "I see what you're doing," said the Charmeleon, a grin splitting her face in two. Then her expression suddenly changed back to confusion. "Wait, hold on. Where's Snivels?"

* * *

The teens and Pokémon landed in the dead of night by the entrance to the arena. When they did so, the dragons seemed to become weighed down by something. They seemed to know, and they didn't know how they did, that they were getting rid of them.

Once they caged up their dragons, they planned on gathering up all the other dragons and herding them in here. Then, Stoick and Gobber would see to their expulsion from Berk.

Everyone was saying a last goodbye to their dragons. "I'll miss you, Stormfly," Astrid said, hugging the Nadder. "Now go." She pointed with her torch toward the open gate leading into the arena, and Stormfly dejectedly walked in, the other dragons following reluctantly.

Except for Lockheed. The Speed Stinger dragonet refused to leave Snivels's side.

"I'm sorry," Snivels said sadly, "But you have to go. You can't stay here anymore." Lockheed snuggled up to Snivels, grabbed his hand in his mouth, and tugged. Snivels shook his head, fully aware of what the dragonet wanted. "No, I can't come with you, Lockheed," he said, "They need me here."

Lockheed let go of Snivels and chirped sadly.

"I know," Snivels said, "I'll miss you, too, but I promise that we'll see each other again someday." He then leaned down and hugged the dragonet tightly. He was reluctant to let go, but he did.

Streak chirped, and her dragonet obediently trotted over to her. Lockheed took one last look back at Snivels before following his parents into the arena.

"It feels like these long sharp claws are tearing at this thing in my chest," said Snotlout, clenching his fists and grimacing.

"That's what it feels like when your heart is breaking," murmured Astrid, close to tears.

"What?! I don't have a heart! I'm not a _girl_ ," Snotlout protested.

The gate began to lower, casting shadows over the dragons. Only their eyes glowed in the darkness, eyes that swam with sadness. Astrid looked away, and she could tell that the others were doing the same.

"Don't close it!" came the sudden cry, and they all looked up to see a black shape streaking out of the sky. It was Hiccup and Toothless, followed closely by Batwings and me. With one swift movement, Hiccup vaulted off of the Night Fury and ran to the still-closing gate. He yanked with all of his strength on the opening mechanism, and the cage opened again.

The dragons walked out again, ecstatic not to be caged after all. As they rejoined their respective owners, Astrid excitedly asked Hiccup, "What happened? Did you change your father's mind?" Then she thought about it, and slowly added, "Or are we going behind his back again?"

Hiccup looked nervous. "Uh, one of those," he replied, and then he quickly changed the subject. "Look everyone; the dragons are going to do what they're going to do. We just have to find a way to use that."

For the first time that night, Astrid smiled.

* * *

It felt good to be flying again, especially with friends beside each other. Now was the time to prove to the entire village that dragons, Vikings, and Pokémon could co-exist. To prove how useful the dragons could really be. Snivels and the other Pokémon took the Dragon-Types, while the teens took their dragons.

Hiccup and the others flew over the ocean, where they spotted a lone fishing boat trying to catch some fish. Hiccup turned to his cousin. "Snotlout, scare us up some dinner." Remembering what had happened in their last trick competition, Snotlout steered Hookfang down to the water, where they swam in circles, scaring the fish into the fishing nets. The nets were full when the Vikings pulled them out of the water. They thanked Hookfang as he and Snotlout flew off.

Meanwhile, Snivels and the other Pokémon had agreed to do something they didn't really look forward to doing. It's not that they didn't want to, it's just that it involved assisting the nasty old Mildew.

Snivels and Blaze led the others, with Snivels riding Raptor and Blaze riding Wavern. As they neared Mildew's cabbage farm, Snivels gave the Speed Stingers the signal to claw the dirt. The pack did just that, plowing the dirt of the garden. Blaze and Wavern then sprinkled seeds into the small trenches in the ground. Palus took this as his cue to cover the trenches with Mud Shot, and then water the seeds with Hydro Pump.

"It's three o'clock," Blaze shouted.

Snivels smiled. "Time for the fertilizer."

A huge pack of dragons, led by Amber and Heat riding on Salamence, flew over the garden, dropping their waste all over it.

"Smile, Mildew," Blaze said as they flew off on the dragons, "We just saved you three whole months of hard work."

Mildew just grumbled as he watched them leave.

The last task was handled by Team Go-Getters themselves. By working as a team, they were able to use the dragons to herd a group of wild boars into the slaughterhouse. As soon as the boars were inside, the team shut the doors to prevent their escape.

They had accomplished tasks that would have normally taken days, or even weeks, to get done in just a few hours. They all met in the plaza. "How did you know that was going to work?" Astrid asked Hiccup.

"Because they're dragons," Hiccup said, "And they're gonna do what dragons do. We just have to work with them and not against them."

"There they are Stoick!"

Everyone turned to see Mildew leading Stoick over to them. "Those dragons don't look like they're in cages to me!"

"If you like cages so much, you should go live in one!" Snivels said through gritted teeth.

All at once, a red and white figure swooped down and stood tall in front of the group, puffing out his chest with a stern glare. "If you want to get to these kids, you'll have to go through me first."

Everyone on the team knew it was a Hawlucha, but Snivels recognized something important about this particular one. "I remember you. You're the one who saved us from that falling pillar during the winter holiday. Kickin' Hawk, right?"

The Hawlucha gave a curt nod.

Even in spite of the defensive stance of the Wrestling Pokémon, Stoick looked grim. "No, this isn't what I asked for."

Their hearts sank.

* * *

If they were going to get punished, Hiccup was sure they could have done without the publicity. There was a crowd ringing the arena, just like the day Hiccup had been tasked with killing Hookfang and Salamence. Stoick and Gobber were standing in front of them with Brumous and Norward, about to give the teens their punishment.

"Oh no," worried Fishlegs, "What's Stoick going to do to us?"

Ruffnut moaned, "I'm too pretty for jail."

Tuffnut scoffed in reply, "Where'd you hear that?"

"I told you we were going to get in trouble," hissed Astrid, punching Hiccup's arm. "You never listen to me."

Stoick began to speak in a clear voice. "You all disobeyed my orders, and now there will be consequences."

"Dad," interrupted Hiccup, firmly. "If anyone's going to get in trouble, it should be me."

The chief shook his head. "No, you all had a hand in this."

"Well, we had to something," Snivels retorted. "Especially since you wouldn't listen to anyone except some cranky old hermit who's bent on all the old ways!"

Stoick's eye twitched a little, but other than that, he ignored the Servine. "That's why-"

"You're getting a dragon training academy!" blurted Gobber, suddenly cheerful.

There were gasps all around, particularly from an appalled Mildew.

"Gobber!" scolded Stoick. "I wanted to tell them that!"

"I'm sorry," said Gobber, "You're right, go ahead."

Stoick replied, "Well, you told most of it!"

Gobber smirked and said, "Why don't you tell them the part about how proud you are of them!"

"GOBBER!" the chief practically roared.

By now, the gang was all grinning so hard that their cheeks hurt.

Stoick shook his head and sighed. "Hiccup...well...what he said."

They were amazed. Hiccup's spirits lifted, and around him, everyone was breaking into smiles. "You've all made me very proud. This dragon training academy...is for you."

He yanked a lever, and the largest of the cages opened. Out bounded the overjoyed dragons, whom the teens embraced. Astrid hugged Stormfly tightly, Meatlug pounced on Fishlegs and licked him. Lockheed jumped up on Snivels, happy to be with his brother once again.

"Now all you have to do is train them," Stoick said to his son, patting Toothless on the head.

"Not a problem, dad," Hiccup said with a mix of confidence and relief. "After all, I've got them."

He gestured to his friends and their dragons, and together, they almost glowed with happiness.

But amidst the cheer that surrounded the new academy, there was one pocket of grouchiness, with a tiny bit of menace at its very center. "I'll get those dragons yet," growled Mildew, stalking off with Fungus and Eldritch at his side.

* * *

Later that day, the arena was bustling with excitement. The entirety of Team Go-Getters had all pitched in to create the logo for the new academy, which was being hung over the entrance. The logo was that of the Strike Class Symbol, only one of the Night Fury's tail fins was red, just like Toothless's.

Hiccup, Astrid, and their friends watched as the logo was put in its place. "Berk Dragon Academy," Astrid said, pausing to punch Hiccup on the arm, "I like the sound of that." She smiled at Hiccup, who smiled back. Then, without so much of a reason, Astrid grabbed the front of Hiccup's shirt and pulled him in for a kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, both were blushing furiously. Astrid happily walked toward Stormfly, who was waiting nearby. Hiccup stared after her as she took off on her dragon, before heading over to Toothless to follow them.

The Pokémon watched them go. "Those two have got something special," Kickin' Hawk said.

Snivels chuckled. "Boy, I'll say."

* * *

 _Dragons can't change who they are. But who would want them to?_

 _Dragons are powerful, amazing creatures. And no matter how long it takes me, I'm going to learn everything there is to know about them._

 _...Wouldn't you?_

* * *

 **Ta-da! Whadaya guys think? I'll be waiting for your reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Viking for Hire

 **Yes, I'm doing all of the episodes in order. What I don't understand is why Cottonmouth25 left out Terrible Twos. It's a really significant episode, in my book. What do you guys think?**

* * *

 _Everybody needs a place in the world._

 _Some people are born to theirs, like many of the Vikings in this village. Some people discover theirs, like Snivels. And some people make a place for themselves, like me._

 _But then, the world around them changes...and the place they made is gone._

* * *

Things started out very normal at the Berk Dragon Academy. Hiccup had set up a scoreboard, and had split his friends into two teams – Snotlout and the twins one side, and Astrid and Fishlegs on the other. He was asking the two teams questions about dragons, jotting down points with every right answer.

But soon, he realized that he should have balanced the teams out. Between Astrid's experience with dragons, and Fishlegs' knowledge of dragons, they were simply unbeatable. On the other side, there was nothing but clueless-ness, confusion, and sometimes just plain stupidity.

"Now," Hiccup said, "Each and every dragon has its own characteristics that give it its own place in the world. What dragon makes the best wielding torch?"

Astrid was quick to answer. "Deadly Nadder!" she said, and Fishlegs put in, "Its magnesium flame burns with the heat of the sun!"

Hiccup wasn't surprised, but he was impressed. "Correct!" he said, placing emphasis on each syllable. "Point to Team Astrid – the score is now one hundred and ten to ten."

Astrid giggled. "And you guys _started_ with ten," she snickered.

"Yeah?" Tuff challenged. "Well, the game's not over." He had a point there. But then – "Wait. What team am I on?"

Hiccup mentally facepalmed. "Alright, moving on. What is the shot limit of the Hideous Zippleback?" He pointed to Snotlout's team.

"I don't think they can count that high," Astrid whispered.

"Oh, really?" smirked Ruff, "Let's find out. Barf, Belch?" The Zippleback was quick to reply. They continued spitting gas and sparks at the far wall, just missing the opposite team each time. Finally, their ammo wore out.

"Looks like it's about...three," Tuffnut muttered.

"Yes, told you we could count that high!" crowed Ruffnut.

"Actually, it's six," Hiccup corrected them, "You're halfway there. That question was worth five points."

Ruffnut did a victory pose. "Now we're up to thirty," she smirked across the arena.

Astrid scowled right back. "All right, it's our turn," she said menacingly. "What happens when you shoot fire at the owner of a Deadly Nadder?" She whistled loudly, and Stormfly bolted awake, reflexively firing a dozen tail spines that pinned the three on the opposing team to the wall.

"No fair," complained Tuff, "She didn't give us time to answer."

Hiccup was quick to interrupt, closing his book and saying loudly, "OK, so we got some really good training done today, right gang?"

Snotlout didn't listen. He took his position on the sleeping Monstrous Nightmare's neck and patted his jaw. Hookfang woke up with a shriek and engulfed his body in flames, burning Snotlout in the rear, and he dove screaming into a trough of water that Hiccup had set up previously – just in case this sort of thing happened.

"This is the third time this week!" Snotlout complained as the fire extinguished itself. "Ah, sweet relief."

"Hookfang never does that when you ride him," Hiccup told Snotlout, genuinely concerned. "Is everything OK?"

As Heat tried to help Snotlout out of the trough, Astrid taunted, "Maybe he just realized who his rider is."

Snotlout gave her an icy glare, but then his expression softened. "You know, there's room for two in here," he said. It was Astrid's turn to glare as she shoved Snotlout deeper into the trough before she and Hiccup walked off.

* * *

"OK, gather 'round! Come on, one and all!" cried Gobber. Curious, Hiccup pushed his way to the front of the crowd. The burly blacksmith and his partner were standing behind a plain table with a huge cart of weapons at his side. Hiccup could already guess what he was doing.

"You may think these dragon-killing weapons have no more use," he continued, "But think again!" He pulled out a sword from behind him. "For instance, this long-sword is now a lovely butter knife."

Gobber demonstrated, picking up a plate of toast and spreading the butter around with the blade. He looked down at the now-completely-decimated slice and added, "Also great at making breadcrumbs!" His smile grew a little more pained as the plate crumbled in his hook.

"Oh, this is a dark day," murmured a voice from behind Hiccup. He didn't have to look to know who was speaking to him – Mildew, and there was no doubt that Fungus and Eldritch were there too. The old man continued, "A great dragon-slayer, peddling his weapons as kitchen utensils."

Hiccup ignored him, or at least did his best trying to.

"Up next," said Gobber, holding up a formidable-looking mace. "How about this, uh..." He trailed off as he looked around confusedly, clearly trying to improvise. When he caught sight of a housefly landing on his table, he brightened and finished, "This handy fly-swatter!"

He crashed the mace down on the table, crushing it to splinters. "Uh, also good at getting rid of unwanted furniture!" As he was saying this, the fly buzzed away.

Hiccup mentally facepalmed for the second time that day.

"Now, for the lady o' the house," Gobber said with a flourish, walking over to a huge, portable catapult. "When the hubby's off pillaging, how are you gonna protect yourself from home invaders? No problem when you have big Bertha!"

He knocked affectionately on the catapult, which promptly flung a huge boulder at a distant house. Hiccup winced visibly.

But by now, the crowd had begun to disperse. "Wait! There's more!" called Gobber desperately. "You haven't seen everything! I haven't cleared out me dungeon yet!"

Now it was only Hiccup and Mildew left. "Oh, it's hard to watch," said Mildew sadly. "Especially for you, eh Hiccup? The feelings of guilt must be tearing at your insides. I mean, you put Gobber out of business with your little peace pact with the dragons. You _ruined_ his life. Bravo!"

In what was less than a second, Snivels suddenly appeared and jumped up onto the ugly old hermit's face, and started to beat him up.

Hiccup was the only one who heard Gobber mutter, "It's okay, Bertha. We'll find a place for you."

* * *

Toothless and Hiccup sat in Hiccup's room, legs dangling over the edge as they looked out into the night sky. Hiccup didn't know what Toothless was thinking about, but he could tell he was concerned for him. Hiccup was upset about Gobber and how, indeed, his "peace pact" with the dragons had displaced him.

"You know, Gobber taught me everything I needed to know to make your tail." Hiccup said gesturing to Toothless's prosthetic. Toothless seemed to understand, but he said nothing. Hiccup could tell that Toothless knew that Gobber was important, especially to him. He had been like the father he never had back in the old days.

Suddenly, the door slammed downstairs, and Snivels shifted in his sleep in the corner of the room. Hiccup walked downstairs to see Stoick hand up his helmet and sink into his chair, exhausted.

"Everything OK, Dad?" he asked. Stoick groaned in response. "Ugh, I was all over the island," he said. "First I married the Svenson girl to the Endergard boy at dawn, then down to the fields where some kids were tipping over yaks, then back up to the newlyweds to settle a domestic dispute."

Hiccup handed him a mug of water. "Thank goodness that wedding's over," he muttered before taking a deep drink. As Hiccup went over to tend the fire in the fireplace, he heard Stoick say under his breath, "Sometimes I wish there were two of me."

There it was – the answer!

"Dad, there _are_ two of you!" Hiccup said excitedly.

"Was that another crack about my weight?" the chief demanded.

"No," Hiccup said, exasperated, "I meant Gobber. _He_ can be the other you!"

Stoick paused. "Gobber? He's too busy making all those dragon-killing..." He trailed off and started again, "I mean he used to be busy, until you...which is great! Except for Gobber..."

Hiccup almost chuckled at his awkward attempts to amend each sentence. "Exactly my point," Hiccup told him. Stoick stood up and said to him, "You know, that's actually not such a bad idea. I could use a right hand."

Hiccup did laugh this time. "Which works out great, because that's kind of the only one he has."

* * *

Gobber, Stoick, and their partners walked through the village, where all the other Vikings were hard at work with their daily business. "I greatly appreciate you coming to help, Gobber," Stoick said. He earnestly replied, "I'm just glad I could find time in my busy schedule, Stoick."

Stoick nodded and held out a piece of parchment. "I've got a busy day ahead of me, now," he said, ripping the sheet in two. "Here's your half." Gobber took the sheet and looked it over. "This should be interesting," he said with mild enthusiasm.

"Now remember," Stoick said seriously. "Some of these situations are delicate. They require diplomacy." Gobber rapidly assured me, "Oh, of course. I'm great at...that." Norward rolled his eyes.

Stoick was surprised. He knew he had given plenty of good advice to Hiccup over the years, but... "You? You can speak to people with tact and sensitivity?"

A new light sprang to Gobber's eyes. "Oh, I thought it meant clubbing people on the head and asking questions later. But I can give your thing a shot." He limped away, whistling cheerfully. Norward grumbled in apprehension before following his trainer.

Stoick hoped it was just his undercooked breakfast that was making him feel funny.

* * *

Stoick sat down at the dinner table and held two solid blocks of ice, that Brumous had made by using Ice Beam, to his temples. He groaned, long and loud. Hiccup winced, knowing that his advice last night probably hadn't helped.

"Two-block headache, huh, Dad?" Hiccup asked delicately. "You know, I think you're being a little bit… rough on Gobber. It was his first day, after all. Tomorrow will be much better."

Stoick agreed with him. "Oh, it will be," he said. "Because it won't involve Gobber."

Hiccup was confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked. _It was that bad?_ He thought to himself.

"I tried to fit a square peg in a round hole, and it ended up sinking a ship and naming a baby girl Magnus," Stoick replied exhaustedly. "I'm not saying she didn't look like one, but...try telling that to her parents."

Hiccup winced. "Well, we still have to help him!" he said, almost to himself. Stoick held up a hand for quiet. "We don't have to do anything. You, on the other hand, will be very busy finding a job for Gobber."

Hiccup facepalmed for the third time.

* * *

All Hiccup and his Pokémon saw were skeptical looks all around. "You're bringing Gobber here?" asked Fishlegs. "He's going to be great," Hiccup assured him. "Nobody knows dragons like old Gobber. He's spent a lifetime… uh… studying them."

Snivels could already tell that this wasn't a good idea. But what choice did they have? They needed to help Gobber, whether the others liked it or not. And finding a place for him in the Academy seemed like the only option available right now.

Suddenly, the arena gate opened, and Gobber stepped in. "I'm back!" he said cheerfully. "Did you miss me?" He was carrying his entire array of dragon-slaying weapons with him. Now Hiccup could see why everyone was reluctant about allowing him to join the Academy.

Hiccup decided to welcome him regardless. "First of all, thank you for coming," he told Gobber as he wheeled his wagon into the arena. "Second of all, tiny question. Why did you bring your...you know..."

Gobber finished for me in a chipper voice. "Killing things?" he confirmed. "I thought we'd train them by threatening to kill them. That's how my daddy taught me to swim." He held up a weapon that looked like a hideous amalgamation of an axe, sword, saw, mace, and spear.

There was silence, before Gobber crashed the weapon down on the ground. "School's in session!" he called.

The dragons booked it out of the arena – first Stormfly, then Meatlug, Barf and Belch, Hookfang, Wavern, Numeru, Drei, and Vengeance. Their panicked shrieks and roars and whatnot became fainter and fainter as they flew out over the ocean. Knowing that he couldn't fly without Hiccup's help, Toothless just ran to the other side of the arena and eyed the blacksmith suspiciously, the Speed Stingers following his example.

While everyone was dismayed and worried, Gobber didn't look a bit concerned. "Eh," he commented idly. "I didn't like school much either."

* * *

Hiccup, Toothless, Snivels, Amber, Kickin' Hawk and Lockheed were relaxing in the arena alone – Gobber was gone, and Toothless was watching Hiccup draw something in his sketchbook – when their friends returned. They hopped off of their dragons, who looked like they had gotten the panic out of their systems.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Hiccup asked worriedly. Indeed, they were all stretching and groaning, panting and sighing. "We were riding our dragons for hours," complained Astrid, something she almost never did. "It took forever to catch them and bring them back after Gobber scared them away." She glared at Stormfly, who was smart enough to back away from her rider when she was in this mood.

"Yeah, sorry about that..." Hiccup said sheepishly. "I just don't know what to do with him."

He looked toward the twins. Ruff was kicking her brother mercilessly in the rear, seeming to be really enjoying herself. "Do you two always have to fight?" Amber asked in exasperation. "No, it's okay," panted Tuffnut. "I asked her to do that. Just trying to get the feeling back." Ruffnut glared and bent over. "You going to return the favor or what?" she asked. Blaze rolled her eyes. "Those two are such little kids," she muttered.

The rest of Team Go-Getters turned away from them. "I've flown for hours on Toothless, and I've never had a problem," Hiccup said in bewilderment. "That's because you have a saddle," Fishlegs pointed out.

Something about that word rang in their minds. All of a sudden, they had the perfect idea. "Saddles!" Hiccup said, snapping his fingers in realization.

* * *

"Saddles?" asked Gobber, honestly delighted, "I love it! I've got so many ideas!" Hiccup handed him a few papers, and he threw them away after one look. "But not like these. Good ones."

Hiccup hastily picked the papers up, which indeed had several of his designs on them. "I'm glad you're excited," Hiccup told him hesitantly. "But I do think that there are things in my designs that you could use. I mean, you did teach me everything I know."

Gobber turned to him, sharpening an axe he had found lying around. "Exactly," he said smugly. "That's why you should let Gobber and Norward do what they do best. We've been making saddles since you were in diapers – in fact, I made your diapers."

Snivels, who was standing nearby, made a disgusted noise. "That's something that I could have gone my whole life without knowing," he grumbled.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, embarrassed. He knew that he had to handle this delicately, like some of the situations Stoick was always going on about. "I know you know what you're doing," Hiccup began, "But keep in mind, every dragon is different. So you need to adjust the -"

But Gobber didn't let him proceed any further.

He dropped the axe and silenced Hiccup with a final, exasperated, "Hiccup." Hiccup paused while Gobber nudged him pointedly with his hammer. "I may have taught you everything _you_ know, but not everything _I_ know." With that, he went back to his work.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and huffed under his breath, "Suit yourself."

But later that evening, when he was about to take Toothless for a little evening flight, Hiccup heard lots of noise coming from Gobber's forge. One of the noises was his singing, and the tune went something like this:

" _I've got my axe and I've got my mace,_

 _And I love my wife with the ugly face,_

 _I'm a Viking through and through!_ "

"You know, Toothless," Hiccup said to the Night Fury, and he turned his head to listen, "Gobber only sings that song when he's actually really happy."

Toothless smiled and gurgled in agreement.

"I think we did a good thing," Hiccup finished, a satisfied smile stretching across his face.

"I'm not so sure," Snivels said before walking off.

* * *

 **Just thought I'd update for the time being, and I'll be waiting for Cottonmouth25's rewrite of Legends are Born. If he decides not to do it, then I'll still continue this. BTW, the HTTYD2 trailer...AWESOME! Review, follow, or favorite.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Tooth Troubles

 **I figured that some of us already know what happens next, so I thought of the best chapter title I could. And for any of you who are interested, Cottonmouth25 has made a Dragons and Monster Hunter crossover, just FYI.**

* * *

The next morning, everyone was gathered at the Academy. Hiccup had high hopes for the saddle project, but Snivels wasn't so sure. He and the rest of Hiccup's Pokémon had a feeling of uncertainty.

"Okay," Hiccup announced. "Before we get started, I just wanted to say..."

He was pushed aside by Gobber. "I think they might want to hear from the artist himself," he said.

Hiccup and Snivels found themselves standing next to Norward, who rolled his eyes and started speaking in an annoyed voice. " _Probo, pass. Probopass. Pass. Probopass!_ "

"Oh, tell me about it," grumbled the Servine.

Gobber ignored them and continued. "I've made a lot of saddles in my day. But these saddles are special. They're like my children. That is, if you strap your child to a flaming reptile and ride on it. So, without further ado..." He grabbed the cloth that covered the saddles and yanked it off.

The sight was surprising, and certainly not what anyone was expecting. The saddles were nearly loaded with heavy weapons that gave the Speed Stingers and Snivels an uneasy feeling.

Hiccup was the first to speak. "Wow, Gobber, this is certainly...not what I had imagined."

Gobber laughed. "How could it be? I'm Gobber! No one knows what it's like to live up here." He tapped his helmet with his hammer.

Norward and Snivels both gave him a look. "I can name at least two people that have more than half a brain," Snivels muttered.

Hiccup looked at the nearest saddle. "Is that a..."

"Yep, flamethrower," Gobber interrupted, giving it a demonstration. "Didn't see that one coming, did you?"

Snivels ignored his instincts of distrust, and walked up to him. "No, they come with one built in, actually," he said flatly.

Gobber just smiled. "I know. But really, can you have too much firepower?"

The twins and Nidos caught their attention. Barf and Belch's saddles were equipped with small catapults. Sarin and Ricin each handed a rock to their respective trainer, and the twins loaded the catapults and fired. However, the rocks each hit one of the Zippleback heads, and the dragon slumped to the ground, unconscious, almost landing on Zweilous. " _Catapults for ze twins?_ " one of the heads asked. The other head groaned. " _Not a very good idea._ "

Hiccup and Snivels sighed, and hen turned to Fishlegs and Pad, who had strapped a saddle onto Meatlug. Numeru was off to the side, but even without the heavy Dragon-Type, Meatlug was having trouble flying, since her saddle had four huge maces strapped to it. "You can do it, girl," Fishlegs said, timidly, "Just think light thoughts!" But thoughts were no match for four huge weapons, and the Gronckle just thudded to the ground in a daze.

"Come on!" Gobber yelled. "That saddle can't weigh much more than Fishlegs!"

Fishlegs himself replied indignantly, "My mom says I'm just husky."

Snotlout, meanwhile, was struggling to load a saddle on Hookfang. Sadly, the Monstrous Nightmare wasn't cooperating. He was incessantly scraping his head against the ground and growling. Even for a Nightmare, it was restless. When Snotlout finally got the saddle on, Hookfang roared and flung it right off, sending it thudding against the far wall, spitting fire everywhere. "Come on, Hookfang, what's wrong with you?" he asked, frustrated. The dragon coiled up, facing away from him. "OK," he snarled, temper rising. "Who wants to trade dragons?"

Not everyone was unhappy. "This saddle is actually pretty good," commented Astrid, riding on Stormfly.

"Wait 'till you try the horn!" Gobber called over.

But Snivels interfered quickly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." It didn't take much for him to sense that something would go wrong.

As if on cue, Hookfang chose that exact moment to let out an angry roar. The noise frightened Stormfly, causing her to fling spikes everywhere, making everyone duck and dodge. Snotlout was pinned to the wall. "Really, again?" he asked in dismay.

"Uh, you know," Hiccup said, "We're really gonna need to make a few -"

Gobber enthusiastically interrupted, "Changes! Way ahead of you. I've got so many new ideas!" He winked and tapped his helmet again. "It's getting crowded up here," he said with a chuckle. Norward shook his head (which was really more like his whole body) before following his friend out of the arena.

* * *

Much later, when the sun was setting and everyone else except Toothless (and Snotlout) was gone, Hiccup and Snivels were cleaning up the arena. Apparently they weren't doing a very good job, because when Stoick entered, he said, "My Odin, what happened here? This place looked better when we were killing dragons here."

Hiccup looked around at the burn marks, craters, and Nadder spines riddling the Academy. "Yeah, we sort of got...Gobbered," he replied, for lack of a better word.

"Well, you know Gobber," Stoick said sadly. "He means well...but doesn't always do well. So, what are you going to do about him?"

His voice carried all Hiccup's regrets and hopelessness. "I'm gonna clean up his mess and make a few changes to his work," Hiccup said dejectedly. "Look," Stoick said, and Hiccup could tell that he was about to receive a father-son lecture. "Gobber's like family."

Hiccup interjected with a protest. "I know! That's why I can't say anything to him!" Stoick replied grimly, "No, son. That's why you have to. It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to Gobber."

Far from happy, Hiccup argued, "Why do I have to say something to him? You didn't, you just passed him off to me!"

Stoick wasn't hurt. "That's what the chief does," he said. "He delegates. Look, I gave you this Academy because it's the best thing for Berk. Now you have to do what's best for the Academy. I'm sorry, but what's best is very rarely what's easy."

"Took you long enough to figure that out," Snivels muttered.

Stoick looked back at him. "What did you say?"

"You don't wanna know," Snivels said quickly.

"What about him?" Stoick asked, gesturing to Snotlout, snoring softly and still pinned to the wall.

"Leave him," was Hiccup's reply. "He's going for a record."

Stoick nodded wisely and replied, "Enough said."

* * *

The moon was high in the sky when Hiccup, Snivels, and Toothless got back. They hadn't meant to be out so late, and they were exhausted. Stoick was covered in mud, slime, and a few other gruesome things; and told Hiccup that he was going straight to sleep. Hiccup told him he'd have a talk with Gobber. Not wanting to see how the talk would go, Snivels headed back home to check on his pack.

As Toothless and Hiccup approached the forge, Hiccup could hear Gobber humming to himself happily. "You never know, bud," Hiccup told Toothless. "Gobber might have looked at my plans and is actually making the saddles better." Toothless nodded, just before a huge explosion rattled the night and caused smoke to fly from Gobber's windows.

"Or maybe not," Hiccup sighed, and they kept walking.

While Toothless stayed outside, Hiccup went in the smithy. "Gobber?" Hiccup asked only to find a crossbow aimed directly at his head. "Don't shoot!" He cried, throwing up his hands.

"I'd never shoot you, Hiccup," Gobber told him reassuringly. "Unless I absolutely had to."

Hiccup laughed nervously as he put away the weapon. "You know, about the weapons," Gobber said conversationally. "Maybe the catapults were a bit too much for some of the dragons yesterday. So I'm going a different way. I've taken out the two big ones."

Hiccup was very happy and relieved to hear that. "Gobber, that's great," he said, just as Gobber turned away from his work bench.

"And replaced them with six little ones!" he crowed, holding up a bunch of spoon-sized catapults that couldn't have thrown pebbles.

"Gobber, we need to talk," Hiccup said, his voice heavy, "I-I think it might be time for you to...take a little break."

The blacksmith snorted. "In case you hadn't noticed, the only time a Viking takes a break is when he's dead."

Hiccup sighed heavily. "Maybe break is the wrong word," he amended. "The thing is I'm not sure things are working out." He took a deep breath and sadly pronounced his next sentence.

"I'm gonna need to take you off the saddle project."

Gobber stopped working and laid down his hammer. There was a very long silence. Finally, he spoke. "You're getting rid of me, Hiccup?" he asked, sounding sad and dejected, with a tiny spark of hope at the center of his voice, the hope that Hiccup was wrong. "Now I see why you had me put down the crossbow."

Hiccup felt awful, but not as awful as he had imagined. Stoick was right – this was the right thing to do. "It's just the saddles," Hiccup reassured him, "I'm sure we can find something else for you."

At last, Gobber turned around, but only partially. "I don't need your pity. I've lost an arm and a leg – I think I'll survive losing a job."

Hiccup placed a hand on his back and patted it sympathetically. Then he left with only one last look at the displaced blacksmith.

Joining Toothless outside, he could feel his sad gaze on him. He knew what had happened in there, and he was wondering how to cheer up his master. "Oh, that was awful..." Hiccup murmured, "I feel so terrible. I don't know what could be worse."

All of a sudden, there was a round of screaming from deeper in the village, followed by a terrifying roar and a burst of flame. "Okay, looks like I'm about to find out," Hiccup said to himself.

A red Monstrous Nightmare burst out into the plaza, spitting fire wildly. It was Hookfang!

Snotlout ran up to a frightened Hiccup, all out of breath. "I never...thought I'd say this," he wheezed. "But Hiccup...HELP!" His voice went from tired to hysterical in an instant.

* * *

Hookfang roared to the heavens, climbing rapidly up a building and spraying fire everywhere. Miraculously, nothing actually caught fire. The Nightmare wasn't aiming at anything, simply shooting at whatever grabbed his attention. And with him being a Monstrous Nightmare, those things were many and varied.

Vikings fled in the masses from the raging dragon, but Hiccup rushed to the scene. "I don't know what it is!" Snotlout said. "I was just patting his head! He loves that! But this time he went crazy! My dragon hates me..." The teens gathered a safe distance in front of the rampaging Nightmare, who was shaking his head rapidly from side to side.

"I've heard that a pet takes on the characteristics of its owner," stated Fishlegs, "I think that's what's happening here." Snotlout went from fearful to wrathful in less than a second, savagely punching him in the gut. "Yep," he rasped painfully. "I rest my case."

Occasionally, Hookfang scraped his head on the ground as if scratching an itch, or trying to eat the pavement...A realization burst in Hiccup's mind. "When's the last time Hookfang ate?" he asked Snotlout.

"Not for days," the Jorgenson replied.

Hiccup reached into a nearby basket and pulled out a fish. "You hungry, boy?" he asked softly, and the Nightmare calmed down at the smell of the fish. He eyed Hiccup balefully before he tossed him the fish. Hookfang instantly snapped it up and chewed, but then shrieked and spat out the chewed-up wad of fish matter right at Stoick.

"Sorry about that, Dad," Hiccup said to him.

"We have to bring this dragon under control!" Stoick said forcefully, throwing the slimy fish out of his beard and having it eagerly caught by Toothless. Beartic was nowhere in sight, possibly guarding the Haddocks' home.

"I can do this, Dad!" Hiccup said to him, and then turned back to Hookfang, his hand held gently out in front of him. Hookfang kept up the baleful glare, but didn't move. Hiccup patted him on the head and said, "There you go...there you go..."

But when Hiccup reached out with his other hand to scratch Hookfang's jaw, the Nightmare shrieked again and blew fire straight at him. "Hiccup, run!" screamed Astrid as Hiccup just avoided the burst of flame. "Way ahead of you!" he called back as Toothless ran to protect him.

There was a brief struggle between the Night Fury and the Monstrous Nightmare, and it ended with Hookfang reaching back with his jaws and flinging Toothless off of him. He hit the ground with a growl and just avoided a quick tail lash.

"Toothless, stop!" Hiccup yelled, and pushed him out of the way just before he would have been victim to a fire blast. Instead, it set a house on fire, and the Vikings taking shelter inside were forced out.

"I'm sorry, son," Stoick said to Hiccup, resting a meaty hand on his shoulder. "I've seen enough. We tried it your way."

No one noticed Kickin' Hawk watching from on top of one of the houses.

* * *

Stoick enter the forge with a fearsome expression on his face. "Gobber, we need you!" he said fiercely.

The big Viking sniffed. "No you don't," he muttered. "Nobody needs me. Nobody needs any of us. Not even you, Bertha." He sat down sullenly on the catapult.

"Are you...crying?" asked Stoick incredulously.

"Course not," the blacksmith replied sadly. "Just chopping onions."

Stoick pointed out, "There are no onions."

"Not anymore," Gobber replied. "Look what I used to chop them with!" He held up a mace.

"There's a dragon in the plaza that's out of control," Stoick said.

"Why don't you call Hiccup?" Gobber asked, sounding as if the words were painful.

"No," Stoick said firmly. "We need you."

Those three words were all Gobber needed to hear. He grabbed a cart full of weapons and followed Stoick out of the forge.

No sooner after they left, Snivels soon entered. He had discovered what was going on, and decided that it was his turn to help. Sneaking into the very back of the forge, he ducked into the little area that was Hiccup's workspace. He quickly found and put on a metal and leather helmet specially shaped to fit him before turning to look at the many weapons and gadgets Hiccup had invented over the years.

"They don't need a Viking," Snivels said, his expression hardening.

"They need an expert."

* * *

The teens and their Pokémon watched Toothless and Hookfang stand their ground across from one another. Neither was willing to back down an inch.

Snotlout was really nervous now. He turned to see the Monstrous Nightmare's Salamence friend watching from the side. "Vengeance, do something!" he yelled desperately.

Vengeance just snorted, and laid down, facing away from Snotlout.

Snotlout was stunned. "I don't understand, it was obedient before!"

Blaze snorted in amusement. "That was before he knew what Mr. Ego was like," she said, mostly to herself.

"Come on guys, think!" Hiccup said desperately, "What haven't we tried?" All he got was silence. "Snotlout, you have an idea?"

All the arrogant Jorgenson could say was a strangled, "Gobber."

They all turned to see the blacksmith armed to the teeth, looking more than ready for battle. Norward was with him too, but he looked more bored than determined. "Stand back!" Gobber said with more ferocity and more determination than they had heard from him in a long time, "I'm here to do what I do best."

Snotlout gaped. "He's going to kill my dragon," he said, voice breaking.

"No, he's not!" Hiccup said firmly.

"Uh, yes he is," Tuff piped up. "You don't use that stuff to butter toast."

Ruff piled on, "I mean, we would, but definitely not you."

Hiccup ran to his father. "Dad, you can't be serious!" he said in shock. "Hookfang is Snotlout's dragon!"

Gobber stopped him. "Sorry Hiccup," he said. "Sometimes you have to fall back on the old ways."

Hiccup argued back. "Hookfang is a good dragon!" he said, both gently and firmly.

"He's a good dragon!" Snotlout echoed, tears welling in his eyes.

"There's probably just something wrong with him," Hiccup continued.

"There's definitely something wrong with him!" Snotlout sobbed, voice rising.

"We have to try and help him!" Hiccup finished.

"We can't get rid of him just because he's having a bad day!" Stoick intervened at this point. "A bad day for a dragon can be a disaster for us. That's not a risk I'm willing to take."

"Of course you wouldn't," said a voice. "And that's because you're not a Go-Getter."

Everyone turned to see a figure emerge from the shadows.

"But I am."

It was Snivels. He was wearing a prototype fireproof leather outfit fitted with several pockets to carry all sorts of equipment. He took out his whip, and cracked it loudly, catching Hookfang's attention. The next thing anyone knew, Blaze, Amber, Tito, Xylia, Palus, Dragonfly, Wavern, and Kickin' Hawk were beside Snivels.

"Go-Getters, unite!"

Before anyone could blink, the Pokémon all ran forward, jumping on Hookfang and holding him in any way possible. Snivels used his whip to grab onto Hookfang's horns and pull himself up onto the dragon's head.

Hookfang roared in anger and shot a stream of fire. The flames came out strong, but they gradually weakened, until they came out no more. "He's all out of fire," Snivels said.

"Would one of you care to tell us what's going on here?!" Stoick bellowed.

Hookfang let out an enraged roar that made Snivels shudder. "I can't translate," said the Servine. "I'm not allowed to say words like that."

"Snivels, what is going on?" Hiccup asked, in a much calmer voice than Stoick.

Snivels glanced at him before leaning down toward the Monstrous Nightmare's mouth and pointing between the dragons' teeth. "He has a bad tooth, in the lower jaw," he explained. "It's been hurting him when he chews, which is why he hasn't eaten anything. It happens all the time, I mean, you'd be surprised how many times I nearly got burnt to a crisp by a dragon with a cavity the size of an egg."

Hookfang looked like he was about to start rampaging again when Snivels patted his head gently. "Nice and slow, tough guy," the Servine said. "Nice and slow."

Following his directions, the Nightmare lowered his head ever so slowly to the ground, opening his mouth as wide as it would go, giving everyone a good view of the disgustingly rotten fang that was causing him so much misery. Snivels lowered himself from the dragon's head, but kept a soothing hand on him.

"This might be hard," he said, "But we need you to relax and stay as still as you can, okay?" He then looked up at his friends. "Anyone know how to pull out a tooth?"

Gobber stepped forward. "I'll do it," he said. Moving slowly, the blacksmith stepped over to Hookfang, reaching into the dragon's mouth and grabbing the tooth with his prosthetic tongs. The Nightmare jerked his head a little when Gobber started pulling on the tooth, but other than that, he stood perfectly still like a park statue.

It was easy to tell that the poor dragon was in terrible pain. A growl from the back of his throat was seconds away from turning into a painful roar. With a mighty wrench, Gobber finally pulled his hand out of Hookfang's mouth with the offensive tooth still clutched in his tongs.

Everyone cringed at the sight of the enormous brown cavity that had eaten away at almost half of the large fang. Hookfang opened and closed his strong jaws experimentally before happily slurping up a fish that was lying on the ground nearby.

"You didn't kill him!" Snotlout cried joyfully.

"For a toothache?" Snivels asked skeptically. "What kind of lunatic would do that?" He quickly averted his eyes from the disgustingly rotten fang that the blacksmith had just pulled. It made his own jaw hurt just by looking at it.

"A rotten tooth, I don't know why I didn't think of that," Hiccup said to himself.

Gobber turned to him with a giddy smile. "That's because you're not Gobber!" he said proudly. "I've forgotten more about dragons than most men will ever know!"

Snivels opened his mouth to retort, but Blaze stopped him. "Let him have this one."

Hiccup turned back to Gobber, who was limping toward his cart full of weapons and said in a satisfied way, "Well, time to put the girls away." But just as he laid his hand on the cart, an idea, a brilliant idea, came to light in Hiccup's mind.

"Gobber!" he called. "Not so fast." Gobber's response was a knowing look and a smug grin.

* * *

 _When the world around you changes, the good men find a way to change with it. And Gobber is one of those good men._

 _In fact, he's one of the best._

* * *

Snivels, Blaze, and Kickin' Hawk sat on a hill observing a flock of dragons line up in front of a building to get their teeth cleaned. A jolly, familiar voice could be heard bursting forth in song.

" _I've got my axe and I've got my mace,_

 _And I love my wife with the ugly face,_

 _I'm a Viking through and through!_ "

"I still can't believe we're just letting him take credit for all that," said an irritated Snivels. "He didn't even know about the rotten tooth until I said something about it!"

Blaze looked over at the Servine. "At least the dragons now have their own dentist," she said.

Kickin' Hawk shook his head. "As much as it pains me to say it, we should let the man have this win...for now, at least."

"If only Vikings weren't so prideful," Snivels grumbled.

Kickin' Hawk smiled. "At least I'm not the only one who thinks so," he said. Then, to Blaze, he added, "Perhaps you agree?" That last part was accompanied with a smile.

Whatever that warm, fuzzy feeling blooming in her heart was, it certainly made Blaze feel quite happy.

* * *

 **Reviews are appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Animal House

 **Riders of Berk episode 3 is now starting.**

* * *

A Pokémon flew across the sky, its dark figure almost camouflaging it in the storm clouds. It was very large, and it had two long wings, and a long tail that each had claw-like formations on the end. It looked slightly bird-like, with glowing blue eyes, and a red and black pattern. Two pairs of black horn-like objects sat atop its head, and the way it flew resembled a T or a Y.

The Pokémon turned to see another Pokémon chasing it. The other Pokémon was a lot more bird-like, with light blue feathers and a blue tail that shimmered like diamonds.

The dark Pokémon scoffed. " _I always thought that Articuno only liked to freeze things all the time,_ " it said in a masculine voice.

The Articuno, Arctic, glared at the darker one. " _Funny,_ " it said in a feminine voice. " _Because I always thought Yveltal only liked to feed off the life force of everything._ "

The Yveltal glared back at her. " _They're just a bunch of stupid, narrow-minded, hard-headed, slug-brained Vikings._ _Why bother trying to protect them if they're all so terrible?_ "

" _Because doing away with those people like this will only make you as bad as they are,_ " Arctic stated confidently.

The Yveltal wasn't so easily swayed. " _Tell that to the monsters who stole all of my Enigma Berries!_ "

Arctic narrowed her eyes at him. " _Folnir, please, don't make me do this,_ " she begged him. When he didn't falter, she launched a powerful Ice Beam at his wings.

The Yveltal dodged the attack, and the Ice Beam instead hit a nearby storm cloud. Not seeing the cloud, Arctic tried an Ancient Power. Folnir turned and used Dark Pulse to counter Arctic's attack. Enraged, Arctic then used Water Pulse, but Folnir dodged that attack as well. The Yveltal then launched a powerful purple-black beam of energy at Arctic.

A Hyper Beam.

Arctic was barely able to dodge the attack. Just when she thought she was safe, a Dark Pulse struck her in the square of her back.

Folnir laughed. " _I guess I was right,_ " he said, " _You do like to freeze things._ "

Arctic turned around and found the cloud she had accidentally hit with her Ice Beam. It was becoming bigger and darker, and colder. Arctic had unintentionally created a blizzard cloud. The direction of the wind changed, and the cloud began to head north. Arctic's eyes widened, but then she turned back to the other Pokémon and scowled at him.

Folnir shook his head and flew off. " _Perhaps I should go find something to eat elsewhere,_ " he said as he departed.

Arctic watched him leave until he disappeared. But when she turned, the icy storm cloud was gone. The Articuno quickly turned and flew off, hoping that she'd be able to find a Pokémon who could help.

* * *

 _Here on Berk, we all made peace with the dragons. Thanks to Snivels, we're all finally living and working together - and it only took us three hundred years._

 _There's one slight problem..._

 _We forgot to tell the animals._

* * *

It was another sunny afternoon on Berk, and the day's events were playing out to be pretty normal.

Unfortunately, 'normal' took on a whole new meaning whenever Berk was concerned. Especially when the island's new dragon residents were involved.

Mulch and Bucket were working in the farming lands as usual, and their Pokémon partners, with nothing better to do, were watching them go abut their business. So far, nothing particularly out of the ordinary had happened - unless the Slowbro and Donphan counted the two adolescent Grapple Grounders frolicking in a sheep pen, of all places.

"Oh, not again," huffed Mulch. "You go on now...you get...get, both of you!"

The portly Viking raced toward the sheep pen, where the sheep were running over and into each other in an attempt to get away from the brawling dragons. Naturally, his Donphan, Rumble, got there first, charging straight towards the two large reptiles in a Rollout. Not wasting a second, the pair of Grapple Grounders pulled up into the air to avoid the inevitable collision. Then they took off, scattering away in opposite directions.

"They know they're not supposed to be in here..." Mulch grumbled as he went to fetch a medium-sized pail. "Alright, everyone, time to earn your keep!" he added cheerfully to the farm animals.

While Mulch settled down beside a yak to milk it, Bucket busied himself with checking the chicken coop for eggs. Even from a distance, it was easy to see his bewildered expression as he lifted up a chicken and saw nothing in the nest beneath.

"Chickens lay eggs, right?" asked the clueless Viking. His Slowbro, Dope, just gave him a blank look.

"Do we really need to go over this again?" sighed Mulch wearily.

"No," replied Bucket. But a second later, he lifted up a sheep next to him and looked underneath it.

"Apparently we do," Mulch concluded, shaking his head.

"Wool," the Viking said, pointing to the sheep pen.

"Eggs," he continued, pointing to the chicken coop.

"Milk," he finished, pointing at the yak. "Got it?"

Bucket cocked his head, still confused.

"Observe," Mulch said as he sat down on the stool next to the yak. "You grab the udder, like so, and pull."

He pulled the yak's udder - but nothing came out.

"Pull," Mulch said again.

When the same result happened, he repeated with more force, "Pull!"

But he pulled so hard, the yak kicked him off of his stool and walked away to join its herd.

Mulch got up, and worried look on his face. "I think we're empty. That's not good."

* * *

It had been Snivels's idea for Hiccup and Astrid to go "dragon-sledding," as he called it. The Servine had introduced the sport as a friendly way to have fun. From what his partner had said about dragon-sledding, Hiccup decided that it was worth a try.

And that's why he and Toothless were racing Astrid and Stormfly down the highest snowy mountain on Berk, with the imaginary finish line at the bottom of the mountain. The two riders were sitting on Toothless's and Stormfly's backs while the dragons slid across the snow on their bellies. With their wings flared out like huge sails that caught the wind, they hit exhilarating speeds as they raced down the slopes. The experience was even better than flying in its own way.

It soon became a tough competition when Stormfly and Astrid pulled ahead. That alone wasn't much of a challenge, but the poison spikes that Astrid had encouraged the Nadder to shoot at the Night Fury certainly was. Toothless immediately hastened to avoid them, and he lost a bit of ground in order to execute the maneuver.

"Hey, Astrid!" Hiccup shouted indigently.

Astrid turned and smiled at him. "Oops, did I do that?" she called back innocently.

 _Two can play at that game,_ Hiccup thought. He urged Toothless forward, and they put on a burst of speed that was enough to overtake Stormfly and Astrid. The Night Fury flared out his wing, blocking Astrid's view and stopping Stormfly from progressing any further.

"Hey, not fair!" Astrid complained, trying to swerve her dragon around Toothless's wing.

A stunted tree suddenly came into Hiccup's view, and he abruptly steered Toothless around it. Astrid only saw it at the last second, and she and Stormfly crashed into it. They kept going, but the female rider ended up with a face full of snow.

"So, it's gonna be like that, huh?!" she yelled at Hiccup, half-scowling and half-grinning.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied calmly, and Toothless put on another burst of speed.

Stormfly, at her rider's urging, suddenly shot a fireball at a nearby pile of snow. The snow exploded everywhere, and Toothless became startled and lost control. He spun around, and only just regained his footing and continued sliding down the mountain after Stormfly and Astrid shot ahead of him.

"It was her idea," Astrid claimed, gesturing to her dragon. "But I approve!"

But then, there was a loud booming noise, and Hiccup turned to see that the noise they had been making had started an avalanche. "Uh-oh," he murmured, clicking the stirrup. Toothless jumped, spreading his wings, but he fell back to the ground. He tried again, but with no success. Hiccup clicked the stirrup again, and then glanced back to see that there was something wrong.

"His tail's frozen!"

Sure enough, the tail fin was covered with ice, stuck in the folded position that Hiccup had left it in.

Hiccup looked at the avalanche rapidly approaching. He turned to see Astrid and Stormfly sliding ahead of him and called out over the noise of the avalanche. "Astrid!"

She glanced back at the sound of his voice, and her eyes widened in fear as she saw what looked like the entire mountainside rumbling down towards them. Both dragons increased their speed, trying to out-slide the huge mass of snow. There was a snow ramp up ahead, and Stormfly shot off and was soon airborne. But Toothless ended up falling back to the ground when he also went over the ramp. Astrid noticed them, and realized that something was wrong. "Hiccup!"

Hiccup, meanwhile, was making his way down Toothless's tail, and soon reached the frozen prosthetic. Desperately, he tried to pull it open, but with little success.

Astrid watched from up above, trying to find a way to help. She then noticed a canyon ahead of them, and gasped. "Hold on!" she shouted as she steered Stormfly down toward them.

Looking up, Hiccup noticed her coming to help him. "No, go back!" he shouted. If there was anything he couldn't handle, it was getting her in danger. But Astrid didn't leave. She pulled Stormfly up beside him, and held her hand out to him. Hiccup desperately grabbed it, and Astrid tried to pull him up onto Stormfly's back.

It was then that they ran out of ground.

Still holding on to Astrid's hand, Hiccup ended up dragging her and Stormfly down with him and Toothless into the canyon. The avalanche had caught up with them, and tons of snow fell into the canyon as well, and everything went dark.

The next thing Hiccup knew, it was pitch black, and he was shivering violently. It wasn't long before he heard someone else nearby. Someone who was shivering. Trying to stay as warm as he could, Hiccup tried out his voice.

"Astrid?"

His heart leapt when he heard her response. "Over here. Hiccup, I'm freezing."

Hiccup sat up, turning towards the sound of her voice. "Come here." He felt something grab him, and two arms wrapped around his neck. Realizing that it was Astrid, Hiccup returned her embrace. Their shivering stopped almost immediately. They were silent for a few seconds before Hiccup asked, "Where are the dragons?"

Just then, there was a burst of blue light lighting up dark area for a brief second. Hiccup turned in the direction of the light. "Toothless?"

There was a burst of orange light, just as sudden as the first, and nearly twice as bright. Astrid looked to where the light had come from. "Stormfly?"

There was another blast of orange, and then a burst of blue, and light seemed to flow into the area, giving the two Go-Getters the opportunity to check their surroundings. They were in a dome of snow, with the dragons beside them. Hiccup looked up to where the light was coming from. "I see daylight!" The dragons' fires had burnt a hole in the snow, allowing the sun to light up the small dome they were in.

"We're gonna get out of here," Astrid said, her voice full of hope.

Hiccup looked at their dragons. "Look what they did," he said in astonishment.

The dragons had used their wings to block the snow, preventing it from crushing them.

Astrid looked up and noticed this as well. "They saved our lives."

The two Go-Getters both turned toward each other, and noticed at the same time how close they were to each other. Blushing furiously, they both let go of each other and scooted away. "So...so we're good now," Hiccup said awkwardly.

Astrid nodded. "Good as new!" Then she punched him in the arm.

It hurt, but Hiccup couldn't help thinking how beautiful Astrid's eyes had looked up close...

Toothless and Stormfly both stared at their friends with a mix of both tenderness and amusement.

* * *

Upon discovering that not just one, but all, of the yaks were refusing to give milk, Mulch had run straight down to the docks, where Stoick and Gobber were overseeing the fishermen's haul. It had only taken him a little time to bring the two Vikings back to the farmlands.

Kickin' Hawk somehow tripped over what was happening and followed them there, standing aside with the other four Pokémon.

Gobber examined the yak for a minute before announcing, "Just as I thought. She ain't giving milk. None of them are."

Stoick glared at him. "We know that Gobber, we want to know why."

"This reminds me of the time I moved my mother in with my goat," Gobber said. Norward rolled his eyes, not wanting to hear his trainer rant through his stories again. Kickin' Hawk, however, was pretty interested in what the Viking had to say. "...She was mean, ornery, and ate everything in sight."

"Your goat, or your mother?" Kickin' Hawk asked in amusement.

"The goat was so scared, she couldn't give milk," Gobber finished.

Kickin' Hawk rolled his eyes. _These Vikings,_ he thought to himself, _mean mothers, ugly wives, shaggy beards. I'd throw myself off a cliff with my wings tied behind my back if it wasn't for the Trainers of Destiny. Can't these brutes be anything like them?_

"The moral of the story is, mothers and goats don't mix," Gobber said, interrupting Kickin' Hawk's thoughts, "The same with farm animals and dragons." "Are you sure the moral isn't that we shouldn't listen to your stories?" Kickin' Hawk asked, rudely.

Gobber went on, as though he hadn't heard the Hawlucha. "We stopped fighting the dragons, and now they're around all the time. The farm animals are spooked." No sooner after he had finished, the male Grapple Grounder appeared out of nowhere, landing in the middle of the farmland. A herd of nearby sheep dropped to the ground, playing dead. The juvenile dragon looked at them in genuine confusion.

"See," Gobber said, pointing at the sheep, "Spooked."

There was a groan, and Kickin' Hawk turned to see Bucket clutching his head. "Uh-oh," Mulch said, "Your bucket's not tightening up on you, is it?"

Bucket answered nervously, "No, no it's not. I'm feeling just...FINE!" He fell to the ground, clutching his head tightly.

"What's with that guy and the bucket?" Kickin' Hawk asked.

"When his bucket gets tight, it means a storm's coming," Mulch explained.

"No storm," Bucket said weakly, "Everything's fine." Mulch and his Donphan glared at the half-brainless Viking, causing him to panic. "I don't want there to be a storm! If lightning strikes my bucket, I could end up less intelligent!"

Kickin' Hawk scoffed. "At least you'd be as smart as the other Vikings on this island," he said. That earned him an offensive glare from Stoick.

Mulch ignored the Hawlucha's comment and rapped Bucket on the head. "That's one tight bucket," he said, "The tighter the bucket, the bigger the storm."

"That's ridiculous," Stoick said, "Storms don't hit this early in the season."

Gobber scoffed, "And besides, who ever heard of predicting the weather with a bucket? That's what chicken bones and goose feet are for!"

Mulch immediately leapt to Bucket's defense. "If you recall, that bucket of his predicted the Blizzard of Oloth!"

Bucket stopped moaning long enough to add, "That was a bad one. It took us a week just to dig Mildew out!"

"And the rest of your lives to wonder why you bothered," Kickin' Hawk muttered. He then said loud enough for them to hear, "And this blizzard you're all speaking of sounds a lot like the one that Regice accidentally set off when he woke up late from his summer hibernation."

Mulch turned to Stoick with a worried look in his eyes. "Trust the bucket!"

Stoick shook his head. "You trust the bucket. I want a second opinion."

Dope sat down, his usually blank expression turned worrisome. Rumble sat down next to his friend, equally worried. Brumous and Norward both shot them a look before they headed over to Gothi's with their trainers.

The elder lived on the outskirts of the village, on a lone mountain. No Pokémon. No dragons. Just her. The elder turned toward the sound of footsteps to see Stoick, Gobber, Brumous, and Norward approaching.

"Gothi, we've come for your wisdom," Stoick said, "Is there going to be a storm?"

Not wasting any time, the elder woman walked over to her dirt-board and started writing in it. "Gobber, what's she saying?" Stoick asked.

"She says, 'what do you think?'" Gobber replied, reading the elder's message.

" _Beartic!_ "

Both Vikings turned at the sound of Brumous's growl, and noticed Gothi's house. The windows were securely barricaded, and there were sandbags everywhere. Stoick turned back to Gothi. "How can you be so sure? Was it the chicken bones or the goose feet?"

Gothi wrote another message, and Gobber translated. "She said she could hear Bucket's screaming from way up here."

* * *

Later that day, the entirety of Team Go-Getters were sitting on top of one of the abandoned catapults, which happened to be the same one that Gobber had set up camp with them and the other teens. Snivels did his best to stay away from the wooden posts, constantly thinking that he might get tied up again. And it didn't help that Snotlout, Fishlegs, Magmar, Salamence, Lombre, Goodra, Hookfang, and Meatlug were there with them.

"...And then, the dragons used their wings to block the snow," Hiccup continued with the story.

"I've never heard of anything like that," Fishlegs said quickly. "Not even in the Book of Dragons."

"Of course you wouldn't have," Snivels stated, matter-of-factly, "Dragons aren't usually very protective of humans, especially Vikings. But on a Go-Getter's case, they always make an exception." He spoke rather carefully, in fear of offending Toothless and Stormfly.

Astrid was no longer able to contain her excitement. "I know, it's incredible! It's as if their protective instincts just kicked in!"

Hiccup nodded and continued. "Who'd believe it? The dragons we've been fighting for years came to our rescue."

"If it weren't for them, we'd have frozen to death," Astrid added.

"You know, you could have used each other's body heat to keep warm," Snivels said, a smug grin on his face.

Hearing this, Astrid and Hiccup both glanced at one another, then scooted away from each other, both blushing furiously. "Who would do that?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid nodded in agreement, "That's crazy."

Snivels chuckled quietly. Toothless and Stormfly had filled him in separately on what had happened, and you could tell by the look on his face that they hadn't omitted a single detail.

"Hey, Astrid," Snotlout said, holding out his arms, "If you're still cold..."

Astrid's response was a menacing glare. She forcefully elbowed one of the posts, causing a bunch of snow to fall from above, on top of Snotlout. "Hey!" Snotlout shouted, his voice hilariously muffled.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Astrid said with mock regret. "Are you getting cold?"

Blaze chuckled. "Snotlout's an even bigger kid than I thought."

Snivels laughed. "Oh, yeah, tell me about it." Just then, another bunch of snow fell on top of Snivels, trapping him.

Astrid gasped. "Snivels, are you okay?!"

From deep within the snow pile came a muffled response, "So cold..."

It was then that the twins arrived with their own Pokémon. "Hey, Hiccup," Tuffnut said, "Your father's looking for you."

"He looked angry," Ruffnut finished.

Amber scoffed. "He's looked like that since the day Hiccup was born," she said. "It's probably no big deal."

Of course, Amber was wrong.

* * *

"We've got a big storm coming," Stoick said as he paced around the room. "We could be locked in. We might not be able to hunt or fish for months."

"It's too early for a storm," Hiccup protested. "We're in the middle of winter. Devastating winter isn't due for another month."

"Ever heard of the Blizzard of Regice?" Snivels asked. "You guys know it as the Blizzard of Oloth. Obviously that ice golem wasn't very happy when he woke up late from his summer hibernation." It had taken a few minutes for the rest of Team Go-Getters to dig him out of the snow pile, and he was wrapped up in a blanket and given a warm drink, which he refused, thinking it had alcohol in it.

Stoick ignored Snivels's batch of info and replied to Hiccup's protest. "Not according to Gothi, and apparently Bucket."

"What should we do about it?" Hiccup said in a panic. "We can't control the weather!"

"No," Stoick said. "But you can control the dragons."

"Actually, Snivels can talk to the dragons," Kickin' Hawk said from his point up in the rafters. "And he transfers the information to Hiccup, so he can train them."

Snivels gave the Hawlucha a nod in appreciation before lifting his nose into the air and sniffing. "The storm wasn't caused by a dragon," he said, taking breaks between sentences to sniff some more. "But if the dragons don't stop _accidentally_ scaring the animals, then we won't have any provisions to live on while we wait out the storm." He emphasized the word to make sure Stoick got the message. The dragons weren't scaring the animals on purpose, after all.

The door opened, and Mulch, Bucket, Rumble, and Dope walked in. Mulch handed Stoick a pail, which was empty. "Not a drop," Mulch said sadly. "And that was yanking on that poor yak for three hours."

"It's not like the dragons are trying to be scary," Snivels said, wrapping the blanket more tightly around himself. "They don't even eat farm animals, they eat fish."

"True," said Gobber. "But they are huge, they breathe fire, and - now that we've made peace with them - are everywhere. The animals are terrified of them!"

Amber walked up to Hiccup. "I think this is where you come in and say 'I'll fix this,'" she said.

"Okay," Hiccup said. "But how much time before the storm hits?"

"About a week," Mulch said.

"No problem," Kickin' Hawk said confidently. "That should be more than enough time."

But then, Bucket clutched his head and moaned. "Correction," Mulch said, "Three days, six hours."

"Okay, less time," Hiccup said sarcastically. "Perfect."

* * *

That's how Hiccup ended up pushing a yak towards the two Grapple Grounders that had been playing on the farm earlier that day. "Come on, you can do it," Hiccup said, trying to get the yak to move. "You'll really like them if you get to know them."

"The dragons look scary," Astrid added. "But they're just giant, scaly reptiles!"

"Just like Snotlout," Tuffnut said.

Snotlout immediately picked him up by the front of his shirt, but stopped. "You're the guy, right?"

"No," Tuffnut replied in a girl-ish voice. That earned him and eye roll from Sarin.

The yak, discouraged by the dragons' growls, ran to the other side of the arena.

"What if we looked at this from an animal's perspective?" Fishlegs asked, getting down on all fours. "Hello, dragon. I'm just a little sheep, walking around, doing sheep things. Baa, baa."

Kickin' Hawk rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure who to feel sorry for," he said, "The overweight mammal, or the yak."

Fishlegs looked up at the male Grapple Grounder. "You know, he doesn't really seem so big..." he was cut off by the adolescent dragon spontaneously whipping him with his tail. Fishlegs went flying across the arena and crashing right into Meatlug, screaming all the way. "I'm siding with the animals on this one," he squeaked.

Blaze stepped forward. "I've noticed that when you have a positive experience with something you're afraid of, it's isn't so scary anymore. The animals just need to get to know the dragons and..." She was cut off by the female Grapple Grounder sneezing flames at the sheep, setting them on fire.

"At this rate, we'll never get any milk or eggs," Hiccup muttered to himself as Palus put the flames out.

"Another way to help the animals overcome their fear is to show them that dragons have fears too," Blaze suggested.

Astrid nodded. "Remember Madguts the Merciless?"

"He didn't go down too easily," Snivels muttered.

Everyone gave him a weird look before Astrid continued. "He was a pretty scary guy. I was afraid of him until I learned that he, in turn, was afraid of the dark."

The twins seemed to understand what she was saying. "During the day, merciless," Tuffnut said. Ruffnut finished for him. "And during the night, Tuffnut."

The male twin punched her in the arm, hard. "Hey, that's a real problem!" Nidorino gave him a bored look. He and Nidorina did fight sometimes, but that didn't mean that they weren't smarter than their trainers.

Astrid ignored the twins' fighting and continued. "I'm just saying that learning that Madguts was afraid of something made him less scary to me."

"And here I thought you weren't afraid of anything," said an amused Snivels. "You are a shield maiden, after all."

Astrid glared at him. "I was three years old," she said.

"And Madguts was a snack for the Red Death," Snivels said, lightly emphasizing each word.

Ignoring Snivels's knowledge on Madguts, Hiccup fished two eels out of a basket. "So we just have to show the animals that dragons also have fear." He held up the eels, and the Grapple Grounders recoiled, snarling in fright. The animals noticed that the dragons were frightened, and they looked less afraid.

"I think it's working," Ruffnut said, confidently.

That was when Hiccup accidentally dropped the eels. Unfortunately, they were still alive, and slithered toward the dragons. The male Grapple Grounder turned away, its tail smacking a stray sheep, sending it flying into the wall.

Snivels suddenly ran over to the gate, clutching the bars, and climbing up to the top, his eyes wide with fear.

Hiccup groaned. Astrid walked up to him. "Don't worry."

Hiccup turned to look at her. "Worried? I'm not worried! Do I look worried?"

But it was quite obvious that he was rapidly running out of confidence. At this rate, the storm would hit before they made any progress with the animals - and if that happened, they would all starve.

* * *

 ** **Reviews are appreciated.****


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Blizzard of Articuno

 **This chapter will gain more importance later.**

* * *

The wind howled, and there was the occasional rumble of distant thunder in the ominously shadowed sky, accompanied by a brief flash of lightning from within the clouds. No one was out and about - the villagers and their partners were all heading to the Great Hall so they could wait out the storm. There were hardly any dragons or Dragon-type Pokémon in sight.

"Just as I feared," Stoick said grimly. He picked up a plank of wood and offered it to Gobber, who had joined him on their last round of the village. "We haven't had time to fully stock the food storehouse. If this storm is as bad as we think it is, we're never going to survive."

"Not with this inventory," Gobber agreed, taking the wooden plank and using it to block the doors to one of the houses. "We're going to need everything we can get from those chickens and yaks. I'm not comfortable in putting our lives on the backs of a brainless bird and a big woolly beast that sleeps in its own dung."

"Thankfully, the fate isn't on their backs," Stoick said, "It's on my son's."

The two of them, accompanied by Brumous and Norward, completed their round of the village and decided that it would be safe to abandon it until the storm had run its course. Up the steps leading toward the Great Hall they went, where the last few residents were bringing in provisions.

"Bring in everything you need!" hollered Stoick. "We don't know how long we're going to be hunkered down!"

With effort, he and Brumous began to help some of the stragglers push their wheelbarrows full of supplies up the stone steps and through the immense doors awaiting them. The last to come was Mulch, who had hitched Rumble to a wheelbarrow so they could tow Bucket and Dope up the stairs.

Brumous walked up to Bucket and tapped the half-brainless Viking's namesake with his claw.

"How's Bucket?" Stoick asked, gently.

"Look at him," Mulch said with a sigh. "He usually loves a wheelbarrow ride."

Stoick looked up at the approaching storm cloud. "We're out of time. Gobber, Mulch, you go get the kids. Bring them back here and make sure they're all safe."

Mulch and Gobber both nodded in understanding. Both of the Vikings nodded before starting toward the arena with Norward following.

Suddenly, Spitelout appeared, herding a pair of yaks toward the Great Hall. "I caught these two," he informed the other Vikings. "I figured we could start another herd with them."

"You might want to take another look, Spitelout," replied Gobber, walking by without even a glance.

Spitelout bent down and peered underneath the yaks, then stood up and said quickly, "Never mind, boys."

* * *

Back in the arena, it was chaos once again. The Grapple Grounders had succeeded in scaring the flock of chickens.

"You know what I'm learning from this?" Hiccup complained as he tried to calm down the two chickens he had somehow been able to catch, "Chickens are, well, chicken." Astrid laughed at that comment.

"And here I was hoping we'd have made a least a little progress with the animals by now," Kickin' Hawk said in disappointment.

Blaze turned to him. "I know, it's crazy."

Hiccup took a quick look around the arena. "Wait a minute, where did Snivels go?"

"He's over there," Astrid said, pointing.

Hiccup followed the direction of her finger to see Snivels holding a long stick, and slowly advancing on one of the eels. The serpent was laying lifeless on the ground, until Snivels cautiously poked it with the stick.

The eel, which was still alive, believe it or not, used the last remnants of its energy to turn its head and look at the Servine.

What happened next happened so fast, it was hard to register Snivels's lightning-fast movements. The Servine screamed loudly, running in frantic circles around the arena before suddenly jumping up onto Astrid, clinging onto her tightly.

After taking several deep breaths, Snivels suddenly realized that he was now eye level with the shield maiden. He stared at her for a few seconds before saying, "Wow, Hiccup was right, you do have beautiful eyes." It took him a minute to realize what he had just said. "Oops, I...probably shouldn't have said that."

Astrid glared at him. "Get off me," she said, her voice muffled, due to the fact that Snivels had unintentionally wrapped his tail around her neck. Snivels let go of her and dropped to the ground, muttering an apology.

Smirking, Snotlout picked up the eels. "Oh, is the little Servine scared of the creepy eels?" he teased, holding the eels out in front of him.

Snivels shrieked, and tried to hide himself behind Hiccup. "Get them away from me!"

Snotlout started to make his way toward the frightened Servine. "Oh no!" he cried in a mocking tone. "The eels are so scary! They're gonna eat me!"

"SNOTLOUT, STOP!"

Snotlout was taken aback by Astrid's sudden shout. He quickly dropped the eels, now dead, and retreated to the other side of the arena. Without saying anything, Astrid walked over, picked up the eels, and put them back in the basket. "Okay, Snivs, it's safe. You can come out now." Snivels sighed in relief as he walked out from behind Hiccup.

"Thanks."

There was silence before Hiccup decided to get everyone back on track. "Okay, now, back to the animals."

Everyone was silent before Tuffnut made a suggestion. "What if we showed them how much they have in common with the dragons?" Everyone else stared at him in shock and amazement. "They both lay eggs, right?" the male twin asked, doubting himself.

"A Terrible Terror laid one last month!" Fishlegs exclaimed. For some weird reason he happened to have the egg with him, and he put it down on the ground, and rolled it in front of the hens.

The egg was about twice the size of a normal chicken egg, but one of the hens didn't seem to mind, as she jumped on top of it, sitting on it as if it were her own egg.

"See?" Hiccup said, hopefully. "An egg's an egg, right ladies?"

But then, the egg cracked, and exploded, showering sparks, flames, and eggshells everywhere. The chickens took off in a flurry of feathers, squawking.

"Until it explodes," Hiccup finished, a look of disappointment and failure on his face.

The Terrible Terror dragonet that had hatched from the egg squeaked and stretched in the middle of the egg-shaped scorch mark upon the Academy floor as if nothing had happened. Snivels walked over to the tiny (well, tinier) dragon and picked it up, leaving a mental note to return it to its mother as soon as possible.

It was then that Gobber and Mulch arrived with Norward. "Everybody out!" Gobber yelled. "The storm's here!"

"But wait!" Hiccup said, panicking. "We haven't made any progress with the animals!"

Gobber scooped up a chicken. "Your father wants everyone in the Great Hall!"

"Take the others then," Hiccup said. "I need to stay here and keep working with the animals. They're still afraid!"

Gobber shook his head. "You can't get eggs from a frozen chicken!" he shouted. "We need to get the animals in the barn!"

Snivels, holding the baby Terror close to keep it warm, took a quick sniff, and his eyes widened. "The barn's completely frozen over!" he said. "There's no way we can get the animals in it without them freezing to death!"

"Then we'll keep the animals in the Great Hall as well," Blaze said, grabbing a couple of chickens before heading out with the others.

"Great," Mulch grumbled. "The animals and dragons under the same roof. This will not end up good."

* * *

Snivels wrapped the blanket around himself as tightly as he was able. Due to the paths to the Great Hall being frozen over, they had to take a shortcut trough the mountains. The storm had arrived, the wind blowing so hard, it whistled. Hundreds of snowflakes were being carried on the wind, making it very difficult to see.

The others were cold, but Snivels, Xylia, Dragonfly, Kickin' Hawk, and the Dragon-types were all freezing. Since they were weak to Ice-types, the cold weather and snow was like being hit with a thousand arrows all over their bodies. They grouped together to trap in each other's heat, but even that couldn't protect them from the cold.

Snivels was, naturally, staying relatively close to the Speed Stingers, who were being followed by the two young Grapple Grounders from the arena.

The animals had grouped together as well, protecting themselves from the cold as the dragons, Vikings, Pokémon, and Team Go-Getters led them down the right path.

But, of course, something had to go wrong.

A bolt of lightning came out of nowhere, striking a tree, causing it to fall over, in front of Stormfly. Startled, her tail whipped Hookfang in the face, angering him. He coated himself in flames, frightening the animals. "Don't worry," Snotlout said. "We've got this under control."

His brag was contradicted when a herd of yaks ran over him and Heat. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay, everything hurts." His Magmar just twitched, somehow expressing those words even more so.

The other animals followed the yaks until they disappeared in the storm.

Hiccup ran to Toothless. "Where are you going?" Gobber asked him.

"After them," Hiccup replied.

"It's impossible!" Gobber shouted, "You'll never get them rounded up in this storm!"

Hiccup ignored him. "With Toothless I can. I have to try, or else we'll starve to death."

Gobber grunted. "Astrid, would you talk some sense into..."

But Astrid wasn't listening. She was boarding Stormfly.

"Oh, not you too!" Gobber moaned, "Astrid! You're not going with him!"

With Gobber distracted, Hiccup quickly gave the rest of Team Go-Getters some orders. "Snivels, Blaze, you're with us. The rest of you take the other dragons and get to the Great Hall. We'll round up the animals."

Amber took a step forward. "Hiccup..."

"GO!" Hiccup shouted above the wind.

Amber hesitated, but then she nodded and helped Xylia mount the female Grapple Grounder before mounting the dragon herself. Kickin' Hawk mounted the male Grapple Grounder, along with Palus and Dragonfly. Snivels and Blaze got on Toothless and Wavern as their friends took off, heading for the Great Hall, save for the flightless Speed Stingers, who followed running below.

Astrid shot Hiccup a glare.

"Yeah, I know," he said, "I'm dumb."

Toothless spread his wings and took off, soon followed by the others on their dragons.

Gobber yelled at them. "Oh, no you don't! Get back here, all of you!"

But they didn't hear him over the wind.

* * *

Gobber's voice quickly faded over the harsh wind, but it was getting darker, making it harder for anyone to see. Toothless shot a few blasts, lighting up the mountain. "You guys grab as many as you can," Hiccup ordered the others. "We'll herd them back to the Great Hall!"

"Can we swing by my house?" Fishlegs asked, shivering. "I'd like to grab my heavy coat!"

Blaze rolled her eyes. "You'd better suck it up, or a coat will be the least of your worries!"

"Hey, check this out!" Tuffnut shouted from Belch's head, slapping himself in the face, "I'm so cold I can't feel my face!" Ruffnut smirked before slapping her brother in the face. "Didn't feel it!" he said.

Ruffnut groaned in disappointment. "That takes all the fun out of it!"

Drei, Sarin and Ricin all glared at them. " _Ve're really starting to get sick of zeir quarreling,_ " both of the Zweilous heads complained. The Nidos nodded in agreement.

Snivels was flying on Buck, ahead of all his friends and rivals. He spotted the animals wandering, lost in a dense forest. "There they are!" he shouted over the wind.

They immediately scattered, going after the animals. "Yaks to the left!" Blaze shouted.

"Chickens!" said Snotlout, blazing past them, almost clipping Wavern's wing. "Hey, give me some space! I'm flying here!" he scolded Blaze.

Angry and annoyed, she shouted back, "We were just fine until you came shooting past us, you big oaf!"

Snotlout ignored her, swooping low over the chickens, trying to herd them. "Hey, chickens! Come on, this way! Follow me, come on!" He called out to Heat and Vengeance. "I could use a little help here!"

The Salamence just snorted, keeping his distance.

Snotlout growled in frustration. "He still won't obey me!"

Hookfang suddenly pulled up, narrowly dodging a fallen tree in their path. "Where are you going?!" Snotlout shouted as the Nightmare started flying everywhere he could.

Meanwhile, Fishlegs tried to gather up some sheep. "Sheep! Hey, sheep, this way! Baa! Baa! Hey, I think it's working!" But he, Meatlug, Pad, and Numeru ended up stuck underneath an overturned tree. Hiccup and Toothless flew past them, along with Astrid and Stormfly.

"I got them!" Astrid shouted, as Stormfly shot her tail spines, which stuck in the ground around the sheep, trapping them. "Yes!"

Just then, Hookfang came out of nowhere and knocked down some of the spines, sending the sheep everywhere. "Snotlout, what are you doing?" Astrid shouted. "You're all over the place!"

"You try herding animals with dragons that don't listen to you!" Snotlout screamed as Hookfang continued his aerial acrobatics.

Snivels and Blaze went after the sheep with Buck and Wavern. Buck used his long tail like a whip, herding the sheep into a tight group. However, three of the sheep broke off from the group and started to head into the mountains.

"Hiccup, stray sheep!" Snivels shouted, despite having trouble keeping the blanket around himself. Hiccup adjusted the tail fin, and Toothless took off after the sheep. The smallest sheep slipped on a patch of ice and slid off a high cliff. But Toothless wasn't far behind, as he put on a burst of speed, catching the sheep in his talons. "Did you get him?" Hiccup asked. After taking a quick glance to make sure, Toothless grunted in affirmation.

Hiccup directed Toothless into a hover, and the Night Fury gently dropped the sheep on the ground, where it joined the others. "Good job, bud!" Hiccup praised as they flew off.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted, trying to see him through the thick snow, "The storm's getting worse! We can't see!"

Hiccup nodded to Toothless. "Give us some light." Toothless shot out another blast that lit up the mountain as it went. The silhouettes of two large figures were lit up by the blast. "Stray yaks, twelve o'clock!" Hiccup shouted, pointing.

The twins immediately flew after them. "I see them," Tuffnut said, "And they are huge!" The Zippleback scooped up the two figures in its talons, and then made its way back to the others. "We got the yaks!" Ruffnut shouted in triumph.

"Put us down now!"

The Zippleback dropped the two figures, revealing them to be Stoick and Gobber. The two Vikings landed next to a lone yak. "Do I look like a yak to you?!" Gobber asked sarcastically. The yak snorted and walked away carelessly.

Hiccup and the others landed next to Stoick, who had been joined by Brumous. Hiccup walked up to them. "You shouldn't be out here, son!" Stoick shouted over the wind. Brumous wasn't bothered at all by the harsh cold.

Hiccup gave his dad a shameful look. "Dad, I'm so sorry I let you down."

Stoick shook his head. "This isn't your fault," he said. "Come on, we're taking you back."

Gobber approached them, with Probopass following. "Which way?"

"Follow our tracks," Stoick said, pointing.

"What tracks?" Snivels asked in a sub-sarcastic manner.

There was nothing but snow and trees as far as the eye could see, which wasn't very far due to the storm. "So much for that idea," Gobber said.

"Sir, what do we do now?"

They turned to see Fishlegs and the others standing nearby, shivering madly. Stoick sighed. "Gather round."

They all formed a tight huddle, trying to trap in heat. Snivels wrapped the blanket tightly around himself and scooted closer to Blaze. The twins and Nidos kept close together, and even Snotlout and Heat didn't try to pretend that the cold didn't bother them.

Hiccup looked at Astrid, who was shivering violently. Feeling the pity and guilt hit him, he sighed. He then took off his vest and draped it over Astrid's shoulders. "Here. You need it more than I do." The next thing he knew, Astrid was hugging him tightly. Hiccup sighed and hugged her back. For the first time that day, Hiccup felt a bit warmer. He turned to look at Snivels, who was still wrapped in the blanket, with Blaze's arm over his shoulder. He looked at Astrid, and hugged her a little tighter.

"Listen, I know this isn't the best time, but recently I've been wondering if...if you would...be my...girlfriend."

He was right, it really wasn't the best time. But he was sure that if he didn't ask her now, he might never get another chance.

Astrid didn't get to provide her answer, though, because her teeth were chattering too much. Hiccup just held her a little closer.

No matter what happened next, at least he was with his friends.

* * *

Although flying for at least an hour wasn't usually a problem for the dragons, it wasn't usually unearthly cold either. The inexplicable cold was so powerful, the Pokémon could tell at it was caused by some kind of Ice-Type. Toothless noticed his friends and the Vikings huddling together, Hiccup and Astrid embracing each other. He knew instinctively what they had to do.

" _We need to help them,_ " he said to the other dragons.

Stormfly was the first to jump in. " _Of course, they need us._ "

Hookfang rolled his eyes. " _Fine then,_ " he grumbled.

" _Come on,_ " Barf and Belch said, alternating between heads. " _We don't have all night!_ "

Meatlug was much more calm. " _We know that._ "

Toothless shushed them. " _Less talking, more_ _helping._ "

Snivels was the first to notice the dragons approaching. They formed a ring around them and spread their wings, shielding them from the wind. Vengeance, Numeru, Wavern, and Drei filled in the gaps underneath the dragons' wings. "What are they doing?" Stoick asked.

"They're protecting us," Hiccup said, pulling out of the embrace and looking up at the dragons.

"It's their natural instinct," Snivels added.

Hookfang growled before shooting fire in the middle of the circle, making the snow sizzle. Meatlug and Stormfly did the same, and even Vengeance used his Flamethrower to add more heat. Blaze and Heat both hesitated slightly before adding their own Flamethrowers to the fire.

Toothless turned suddenly, and noticed the family of sheep whose lamb he had rescued. Snivels suddenly darted forward, the blanket on his shoulders, and stood in front of the sheep. He gestured to the group, and the two sheep immediately ran off at the sight of the dragons.

But the little one stayed put.

Snivels gently patted the sheep's head, and the two of them headed to the circle. Snivels headed back to his spot, making room for the lamb to lie down. The little sheep settled down next to him, and bleated, comforted by the warmth. Snivels smiled at the sheep. When he looked up, he gasped.

All of the other animals were making their way to the circle, not showing any fear whatsoever. Yaks, sheep, and chickens came to huddle in the comforting warmth of the circle. Snivels knew instinctively that the animals had shaken off their fear of the dragons, and he could tell that everyone else knew it too.

"You're dragons are really something, Hiccup," Gobber said.

Hiccup smiled up at Toothless. "Yeah, I know." He turned to look at Astrid, who pulled him to her and kissed him. Hiccup's eyes widened for a second, but after he realized what was going on, he relaxed and kissed her back. He'd asked her if she wanted to be his girlfriend, and this was her way of providing the answer.

 _Yes, I will._

Smiling, Snivels looked around to see expressions of shock and slight confusion. Snivels nearly laughed at Snotlout's expression, which was absolutely priceless. Snivels felt Blaze tighten her grip on his shoulder. He looked up to see her smiling. It was a friendly smile, like the ones they had shared when they played in the fields when they were young, and best friends. Snivels gave her a small smile in return. His eyes widened suddenly, and he reached into the blanket to get something.

Astrid and Hiccup paid no attention to the other teens as they relaxed in the kiss they were sharing. It would have probably lasted all night if a soothing melody didn't fill the air. The two Go-Getter lovers pulled apart and turned to see Snivels playing a soft tune on a whistle that resembled the head of a dragon. Hiccup didn't recognize the melody, but there was something about it that was almost mystical.

Ignoring the looks of confusion his friends were giving him, Snivels continued to play the soft tune. He had learned it from a rare species of dragons that were known for their soft melodious songs that could put people, Pokémon, and dragons alike to sleep.

And it was working, too, as everyone's eyes drooped as Snivels continued to play. The dragons, however, put their claws in their ears, protecting themselves from the soft tune - for the most part. The others all sat down, including Snivels, who continued to play softly on the Dragon Whistle.

In a few minutes, they were asleep, with the dragons standing over them, protecting them from the storm.

* * *

It took a while, but they finally made it to the Great Hall. Stoick and Brumous opened the doors, and they all filed in. The rest of Team Go-Getters, both Pokémon and dragon, ran to greet their friends. "Oh no," Mulch muttered, "Here come the dragons."

Sure enough, the dragons all filed in as well, but surprisingly, with the animals on their backs. The animals, not showing any fear of the dragons, filed in as well, a few of them riding on the dragons' backs. "Well, would you look at that!" Mulch said in a mix of wonder and surprise.

Snivels quickly caught their attention. "Everyone! The chickens are laying eggs again!"

He held up a smooth, white egg that had just been laid by one of the chickens he had been leading into the Great Hall. Everyone burst into delightful cheers. "I was right, chickens do lay eggs!" Bucket said.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Arctic was flying outside, camouflaged against the blue sky, watching the Vikings, Go-Getters, dragons, Pokémon, and animals mingle peacefully with one another. Smiling, she turned and flew off.

* * *

 _We made peace with the dragons when we saw that we could trust them. As it turns out, they have instincts to protect us._

 _All of us._

 _Life on Berk just got a little warmer._

* * *

"So, what you're saying is, you thought that you had messed up the prophecy, when in reality, you happened to help fulfill part of it?"

Arctic had flown to a giant rocky cave with icicles hanging from the ceiling. She was walking with a yellow, bird-like Pokémon with flames on its wings, tail, and even the top of its head. Moltres.

"I'm sure of it, Molten," Arctic was saying, "Some of the members of Team Go-Getters have grown closer to each other."

"So you're saying that there's no doubt that..." Molten began, with Arctic finishing his sentence.

"...That Kyurem's prophecy of the four trainers will be successful. I can assure you and Zap that it will be."

Arctic started to walk away, but Molten stood there with a confused expression.

"Four? I thought there were only three."

* * *

 **Obviously, it's a common mistake for some of the Legendary Pokémon to think that the prophecy is about three trainers instead of four.**

 **And if any of you are wondering what Kyurem's prophecy is, you can find it on my profile. Let's see if any of you have any idea about what it might mean.**

 **Review, follow, or favorite.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Terrible Twos

 **A new dragon, and a new rivalry as well. Spoiler alert: the ending will be different.**

 **That is all.**

* * *

 _When you're riding on a dragon, communication is key. You almost have to read each other's minds._

 _And you've got to have an open mind, because sometimes your dragon knows better than you._

* * *

It all started when Team Go-Getters, along with the other dragon riders, went flying in the forest with their dragons. Except for Snivels, who was running on the ground with the Speed Stingers.

The purpose of the exercise was to work on communication skills.

"Follow me," Hiccup called to the others, "Low-level evasive maneuvers!"

Everyone urged their dragons below the forest canopy, where the trees were spaced out enough for them to fly through with ease. Hiccup and Toothless sped up, weaving through the trees with ease, but the others were having a bit more trouble than they were.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Snotlout screamed as Hookfang flew around crazily, eventually flying straight towards a tree. The Nightmare flew low enough to evade the branches himself, but Snotlout ended up getting branches whacking him in the face.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Snotlout asked, furiously. Hookfang just growled. "We've gotta go back, I think you missed a branch." Not getting his rider's sarcasm, and also tired of his criticism, Hookfang turned and flew into a thicker grove of trees, with hundreds of branches smacking his rider in the face. By the time he was finished, there were twigs sticking out from under Snotlout's helmet and out of his nose.

"You got it," he grumbled.

Snivels had seen the incident, and nearly lost his flight pattern, he was laughing so hard. He carefully straightened himself out and flew off.

Hiccup heard a scream, and turned to see Stormfly flying toward a fallen tree, resisting Astrid's efforts to steer.

"Stormfly, up!"

But the Nadder just squawked and turned downwards sharply. So sharply, that she threw Astrid off her back. Stormfly dove under the tree and caught Astrid on her back. "You were right, Stormfly," Astrid said, "It was down, not up. I almost died."

"Almost died?!" Snotlout demanded as he and Hookfang flew beside them, "I _could have_ died!" He pulled a twig out of his nose. "That's a good look for you," Astrid said, snickering. Not getting her sarcasm, Snotlout put the twig back.

Blaze flew next to Astrid on Wavern. "Do we need to get a sarcasm sign for him?" she asked.

Astrid shrugged. "Probably."

Blaze shook her head. "Snotlout's such a little kid."

Hiccup suddenly flew up to them. "Has anyone seen Fishlegs?" he asked.

"I saw him yesterday," Ruffnut said, "Does that count?"

Snivels glided up and gave her a look. "No, no it doesn't."

"Alright guys," Hiccup said, "You all head back to the village. I'll go with Snivels and the others to look for Fishlegs."

Within moments, Snivels, Amber, Tito, and Kickin' Hawk were all following Hiccup while the other riders and Pokémon went back to the Academy. It wasn't long before they found Fishlegs, Meatlug, Pad, and Numeru stuck in a tree. The boy, dragon, and Dragon-Type were wedged in the branches while his Lombre was caught by the lily pad on a stray branch.

Team Hiccup landed their dragons and went to investigate. "Are you okay up there?" Hiccup asked. "I'm fine," Fishlegs said, "Just...hanging out. Not like we crashed or anything. Okay, we crashed. I said it..."

"I got this," Snivels called as he arrived. He scaled the tree with ease, snatching Pad from off the branch he was stuck on. With one jump, the two Pokémon landed on the forest floor.

"What about the others?" Hiccup asked.

"I have no problem helping any of them except for Fishbreath," Snivels stated.

"You know we can hear you, right?" Fishlegs asked nervously.

Shaking his head, Hiccup grabbed Fishlegs's boots and pulled. But the Ingerman boy was stuck too tight, and Hiccup went tumbling back onto the ground after a few seconds...along with Fishlegs's pants.

"Oops," he said.

"And there goes my dignity," Fishlegs muttered.

" _Your_ dignity?" Kickin' Hawk asked, referring to the fact that Hiccup had seen the boy's undergarments. Snivels snickered at the idea of Fishlegs hanging in a tree in his underwear.

"He's pretty stuck up there," Amber said. Hiccup stood up, dropping Fishlegs's pants. "I think I have a way to get you down, but you have to stay perfectly still."

"Why?" Fishlegs asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Careful, Toothless," Hiccup advised his dragon. "He's...not wearing any pants."

"Wait a second," Fishlegs said, reasonably nervous. "What does my lack of pants have to do with..."

He was cut off by Toothless shooting a plasma blast just below Fishlegs. The Ingerman boy was blasted right out of the tree. Fortunately for him, he landed right on a soft patch of grass.

Hiccup walked over and handed Fishlegs his pants, which he gratefully put on. "Now," Hiccup said, "What are we going to do about Numeru and Meat..."

The tree suddenly collapsed, and Meatlug came crashing down, along with her Goodra companion.

"...lug," Hiccup finished.

"Can you do me a favor and not tell the others that Meatlug broke the trees?" Fishlegs asked. He then added in a whisper, "She's sensitive about her weight."

" _She's_ sensitive about _her_ weight?" Kickin' Hawk asked in amusement. He then mocked in a whiny voice, "'My mom says I'm just husky!'"

"How did this even happen?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know," Fishlegs said, "I was just flying along, taking notes on the flora and the fauna...typical guy stuff...when something jumped out of the bushes. It was like, I don't know...a flaming squirrel."

"Really," Kickin' Hawk said, "A flaming squirrel?"

"Or chipmunk," Fishlegs said, "Or some other flaming rodent."

This got him skeptical looks from everyone.

"I don't know, it scared us!" He said, flustered, "Isn't that enough for you guys?" He climbed onto Meatlug's back, along with Pad and Numeru, and took off.

As soon as they were gone, Kickin' Hawk burst out laughing. This took everyone by surprise, for he seldom laughed. "Did you hear that?" the Hawlucha said through fits of laughter, "A flaming squirrel. Everyone knows there's no such thing as a...FLAMING SQUIRREL!"

A sizzling projectile of orange fire suddenly zipped out of the trees, through the grove, and back into the forest. It just barely missed Kickin' Hawk, who jumped back in surprise.

"Whoa," Hiccup said in awe, "You guys saw that, right?"

Kickin' Hawk straightened himself out before muttering, "I stand corrected."

They all followed the path that the projectile had taken into the forest. They soon came across a fallen log and a small cave formed by a pair of boulders. A small chirping sound came from inside the cave.

"Should we blast it?" Kickin' Hawk asked. "Keep that option in mind," Hiccup said before approaching the cave. He knelt down at the cave entrance, trying to see what was inside. A small dragon's head poked out and sniffed curiously. Snivels suddenly appeared next to Hiccup. "I've never seen a dragon like that before," he said. The little dragon, startled by Snivels's sudden appearance, tried to bite the Servine. This caused Toothless to roar angrily.

"You're not helping," Hiccup scolded.

The dragon suddenly hopped out into the open, and Team Hiccup got a good look at him. He looked a little like a mix between a Monstrous Nightmare and a Timberjack, but was no bigger than Snivels. His wings were orange, and there were two horns extending from his head, as well as a small horn on his nose.

"It looks a lot like a Monstrous Nightmare," Tito said, examining the dragon.

"But look at how different he is," Snivels said, circling the dragon to get a better look. "I think we've discovered a new species."

Toothless then started to push Hiccup away from the dragon. Hiccup struggled to push the Night Fury away. "What is wrong with you?" he scolded.

"Hiccup?" Snivels said, examining the small dragon's legs. Hiccup turned to look at his partner. "He's hurt," Snivels said, pointing.

Sure enough, the small dragon was walking with a limp. Snivels reached into Toothless's saddlebag, despite the Night Fury's growls of disapproval, and took out a small fish. He held the fish out to the dragon, who sniffed it a few times before devouring it. Smiling, Snivels took out another fish and tossed it on the ground. The dragon immediately lunged to eat it. As it did so, Snivels reached out and started to pet the dragon. The small reptile looked up at the Servine, before turning his attention back to the fish. When he was finished, the dragon suddenly jumped up onto Snivels, and cuddled him. "Hey, what are you doing, little guy?" Snivels asked. He suddenly screamed as the dragon tightened its grip on him. "Little dragon, big claws!"

Hiccup chuckled. "Well, Snivs, looks like you've got yourself a dragon to take care of."

The dragons suddenly tightened its grip on Snivels's torso.

"You mean _he's_ got _me_!"

* * *

"This is so exciting!" Fishlegs exclaimed, "It's a whole new species, I'm sure of it!"

Tuffnut looked at the dragon and grunted. "It doesn't look like a flaming squirrel to me."

Fishlegs looked over the male twin's shoulder. "We have no idea what it's capable of," he said, "There's no telling what it might do."

The dragon looked up at the two boys, unsure of what to think of them. Tuffnut knelt down to the dragon's level. "Flame! Do it!"

The dragon's response was to pounce on him and bite his nose. Tuffnut screamed, "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!" He pulled the dragon off, and the little reptile pounced on Ruffnut, attacking her. "Hey, that _is_ funny," Tuffnut said.

Hiccup sighed. "Come on, guys, this is serious. We have to figure out what to do with him. He's hurt!"

" _He's_ hurt?" Tuffnut asked, rubbing his sore nose. The dragon jumped off of Ruffnut, and landed on Snivels's back.

"He's just a little scared," said the Servine. "He'll settle down."

Fishlegs walked up to him. "Um, need I remind you, new species?" he said nervously, "We don't actually know what he'll do."

Astrid sighed. "Well, somebody's got to take him home."

Everyone stepped back, leaving Hiccup and Snivels. The young Servine turned to look at the little dragon.

"Well, here are your somebodies."

* * *

"He can't stay," Stoick said, "I've got a one-dragon limit!"

"Have you forgotten that Lockheed is upstairs?" Snivels asked, "And the rest of the pack is outside, by the way."

"Come on," Hiccup pleaded, "He's not a very big dragon. Think of him as a...flaming squirrel."

"I don't want one of those either," Stoick said. Behind him, Brumous loaded some firewood into the fire pit in the middle of the room. Stoick looked at Toothless expectantly. "Well, what are you waiting for? Do your thing."

Toothless reared up, and was about to shoot when the small dragon shot a stream of flame at the wood, igniting it. Toothless jumped back in surprise.

Stoick laughed. "Well, looks like you got torched!"

Toothless looked away with a growl.

"That's his name, by the way," Stoick said, patting the little dragon's head. "Torch."

"So, he can stay?" Hiccup asked hopefully.

"Can't throw him out now," Stoick said, chuckling. "We just named him!"

Snivels walked up behind Torch and lifted him up. "He can stay," he said. "And I'm in charge of caring for him." He carried the little dragon to the other side of the room and handed him some fish.

Later that evening, after everyone had eaten, Snivels walked upstairs to Hiccup's room, where the other Pokémon and their dragons were. "Check this out," he said, carrying Torch, "He learned how to do all this in only two hours!" He set Torch on the floor. "Torch, speak!"

Torch chirped.

Snivels smiled. "Good boy! Now, sit!"

But Torch chirped.

Snivels turned to look at his friends. "He did it a minute ago!" He walked behind the dragon, and pushed his rump down. "Torch, sit!" But Torch stood back up. "No, sit!" He pushed the dragon's rump to the floor, but Torch stood up. "SIT!" But Torch wouldn't sit. He chirped. Snivels sighed. "We'll come back to that. Torch, stay!" But Torch scampered around the room, not paying attention to Snivels.

"Maybe he's just trying to get used to his surroundings," Amber suggested.

"Either that, or he's not really obedient," Kickin' Hawk said.

Snivels shrugged. "At least he learned one trick," he said. He then slinked tiredly into the corner of the room where Lockheed was waiting. The two siblings curled around each other and went to sleep.

Toothless grunted, and was about to rest on his stone slab, when he realized that Torch had beat him to it. "Oh, look at that," Hiccup said, "He's made himself at home. Toothless, you don't mind sharing for the night, do you?"

Toothless grunted, and then leapt onto the largest beam in the rafters and lay down on it.

"Looks like he does mind," Kickin' Hawk said. "Let's just get some sleep. It's been a long day." Agreeing with the Hawlucha, the others all turned in for the night.

Except for Toothless.

Once he was sure that the others were all asleep, he jumped down from the rafters and leaped out the window. Under the cover of night, he ran until he reached a small cliff. He looked out into the forest and noticed that a few trees were on fire. He then heard the sound of a big dragon roaring.

It was coming from the place where they had found Torch.

* * *

The next day, the teens met at the Academy with their respective dragons and Pokémon to learn more about Torch. Snivels was trying to teach Torch the basic obedience, which the dragon was failing miserably. Hiccup watched them for a while, before he walked over and picked up the little dragon. "Alright, Torch, let's figure out what you are."

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Fishlegs squealed, "Documenting a new species! Learning all about it!" He ran to get the Book of Dragons.

"Learning?" Tuffnut said in disgust.

"No thanks," Ruffnut said.

Fishlegs came back, his nose buried in the Book of Dragons. "Is there anything in the book that looks like that?" Snotlout asked, pointing at Torch.

"Does that mean you never read the book?" Astrid asked, annoyed.

Snivels raised his hand. "I did. The whole thing."

"What?!" Snotlout said in shock. "You must have skipped some and go right to the very end!"

"No, I didn't!" Snivels protested.

"I think I know how," Fishlegs said, who was looking in the book. "Most of these pages are totally blank!"

Snivels shrugged. "We started the Book of Dragons as a source of information separate from the Dragon Manuel, which only tells you how to kill dragons. And since there's a strong possibility of there being many new dragons out there, it would help to have extra pages."

"Snivels, is there anything in the Book of Dragons that looks like Torch?" Hiccup asked.

Snivels shook his head. "That dragon is one all its own."

"We even get to determine what it's called," Fishlegs breathed.

"Are we even ready for this?" Tito asked.

"I am!" Snotlout bragged. "I'm gonna name the snot out of it!"

Blaze handed Astrid a measuring tape to measure Torch's wingspan. The dragon stood completely still as his wings were measured. "Twenty inches for the wings," Astrid said, putting the tape away.

"That's a pretty big wingspan," Amber said.

Snotlout immediately began rattling off names. "Bigwing! Bigspan! Bigwingspan!"

Fishlegs approached Torch, holding up a blank sheet of paper. "May I have the honor of administering the claw test?"

Torch shredded the paper with his talons.

"Wow," Blaze said, "Those claws are very razor-like."

"Sharpclaw!" Snotlout shouted. "Razorfeet! Razor-sharp-claw-talon-feet!"

"Is he serious?" Kickin' Hawk asked.

"You know what's next, don't you?" Fishlegs asked Hiccup.

"No, actually I don't," Hiccup replied, honestly.

"Only the single most important test to determine a dragon's reaction to eels," Fishlegs explained as Pad fished an eel out of the basket they had taken to the Academy.

"The eel reaction test?" Snivels asked, backing up to the far wall of the Academy. The other dragons all backed away as well.

Pad handed Hiccup the eel, and Hiccup held it up in front of Torch. The little dragon sniffed the eel a few times before he suddenly wolfed it down, without a single complaint.

"He ate it!" Blaze said in disbelief. "He actually ate the eel!"

"So, he's different from the others," Hiccup said.

"Kind of like you," Astrid said. That made Hiccup blush.

Then the moment was ruined by Snotlout's latest attempt to name the dragon. "Eel-eater! Come on, it's perfect!"

"Fishlegs, has there ever been a dragon that wasn't afraid of eels?" Hiccup asked.

"Never in recorded history," Fishlegs replied. "We're in uncharted waters, my friend."

"Then Torch is one of a kind," Amber said.

"Let's see if we can get him to fly," Astrid said as Hiccup picked up the little dragon.

"Maybe he would if he saw Toothless fly," Blaze suggested.

"Actually, Toothless isn't really in the mood for flying," Snivels said, looking up at the Night Fury, who was on a cliff above the arena.

"So much for the 'Dragon Trainer'," Snotlout snickered.

"That's not funny," Astrid said, glaring at him.

"Why don't you use Wavern?" Snivels asked Blaze.

"Good idea," Blaze said, mounting the female Noivern, "Let's try it." She turned to look at the little dragon. "Watch and learn, Torch." She nudged Wavern, who immediately bolted out of the Academy. Torch watched as they flew in circles around the arena expertly. A minute later, they flew back in and landed in the middle of the arena. Blaze dismounted Wavern and fed her a Spelon Berry before walking over to Torch. "Your turn. But don't think you have to live up to that yet."

Torch hopped down from the table and started walking in circles.

"What's he doing?" Ruffnut asked.

"Watch and learn," Blaze replied.

Torch continued to pace in a circle, remaining grounded.

"Ah man, we broke him," Tuffnut groaned.

"Maybe he can't fly," Hiccup said.

"Wait for it..." Snivels said quietly.

Torch suddenly ignited himself in orange sparks, and he started running in tight circles. Building enough momentum, the little dragon took off, flying in ever-increasing cycles around the Academy. After a while, he came back to rest in the same spot, landing on the ground and dispelling the sparks.

"You," Hiccup said as Torch jumped into his arms, "Are one incredible little dragon!"

"Look at this burn mark," Blaze said, pointing to a spiral-shaped burn on the ground.

"And look at this burn mark," Tuffnut said holding up his arm.

"Did you see how it flew?!" Fishlegs said in excitement, "It spun like a typhoon!"

"And he came back, just like a boomerang!" Astrid said.

"Hotspinner!" Snotlout said loudly, "Flaming-come-backer-er!"

Snivels shook his head. "I have a better name," he said. He then paused for dramatic effect before stating, "Typhoomerang!"

"Typhoomerang?" Snotlout repeated in confusion, "I don't get it."

* * *

 **This is all I'll write for now. It's a little hard for me to remember exactly how the episode goes. Any of you guys think that Torch will learn the basic obedience? Review, follow, or favorite.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Typhoomerangs

 **A little more training with Torch, and some arguments as well.**

* * *

Snivels had been trying to teach Torch the basic obedience for almost two days, and the only thing that Torch would do was the speak trick. Snivels continued to train the little dragon as Hiccup filled in the Book of Dragons. "Have him hold still," Hiccup said to his partner, "I'm trying to draw him." "You do know that he hasn't mastered the 'stay' command, right?" Snivels asked.

Sure enough, Torch was scurrying all over the place, sniffing every nook and cranny. Snivels followed him, making sure he didn't get hurt or break anything. It was one of those rare moments where Torch didn't seem to cause too much trouble. After a few minutes of sniffing and scurrying, Torch seemed to calm down, and stood in front of Snivels. The Servine decided to give the obedience training one last try.

"Torch, sit," he said in a firm, but gentle voice.

Much to his surprise, Torch sat down. "Guys, he did it!" Everyone turned to see the little dragon sitting in front of Snivels eagerly. The only one who wasn't looking was Toothless, who was outside on the roof, staring out at the forest. There was a faint roar in the distance, and the Night Fury bounded into Hiccup's room.

Torch shrieked at the sudden arrival of the black dragon, running over to Hiccup, who dropped his pencil, breaking the charcoal. Snivels walked over and picked up the little dragon. "Toothless didn't mean to scare him," he said quickly, trying to make sure that either dragon didn't get yelled at. Hiccup shrugged. "It's really not that big a deal, I'll just go get more charcoal. Until I get back, Snivels is in charge." He grabbed his pencil and left.

Snivels set Torch down and walked over to Toothless. "So, what was that all about?" Toothless warbled urgently. Snivels's eyes widened. "You're sure?" Toothless nodded. "What did he say?" Amber asked. "He said that there's another dragon out there," Snivels said, "I'll check it out after Hiccup gets back."

Torch then chose that particular moment to sneeze, sending a blast of fire at a wall. The wood immediately caught fire, and the Pokémon hastily tried to put it out. Hiccup came running up the stairs just in time to see Snivels stomping out the last of the fire.

"It was an accident, Torch just sneezed," Amber explained, petting the little dragon.

"It doesn't matter if the flames even came out the other end," Hiccup said in a somewhat sarcastic manner. "All that matters is that the fire is out."

Snivels stared at his friend. "You are taking all of this extremely well," he said.

"I'll admit, it's not easy," Hiccup muttered, heading to his bed.

In the next hour, everyone except for Snivels was asleep. The Servine had to see what Toothless had heard, or seen, in the forest. Moving quietly, he climbed out the window and dropped silently to the ground.

Snivels trod away quietly until he was sure he was a safe distance away. He then took off running into the forest, with his sense of smell guiding him through the trees in the darkness. In no time, he had reached the place where he and the others had found Torch. He sniffed the small cave for a minute before he heard some rustling behind him. He turned to see some nearby bushes shaking violently. He ducked behind the rocks as the bushes parted to reveal two more Typhoomerangs. One was yellow, and the other was blue.

Snivels slowly walked out of his hiding place, and the small dragons took notice of him. There was silence before the Servine asked, "Who are you guys?"

The yellow dragon bounced up and down a little. " _I is Singe._ "

" _I am Kindle,_ " said the blue dragon in a much more serious tone.

"Do either of you know Torch?" Snivels asked. "Small guy, orange in color and very rowdy?"

Singe's bouncing turned into jumping. " _Big brother! Big brother! Big brother orangey but not rude-y!_ "

" _It's rowdy,_ " Kindle corrected, annoyed at her younger brother's rambunctiousness.

Just then, there was a loud roar in the distance. Kindle gasped, " _Our mother is coming!_ "

Snivels rushed into the bushes, parting the branches to get a look at the dragons. An enormous red dragon that looked very similar to Kindle and Singe landed in the opening. Snivels bit back a gasp. There was no doubt that this was a full-grown Typhoomerang.

Kalama roared, spitting fire around herself and her children, and Snivels noticed why. Wild boars were watching the family of dragons, looking for a possible opportunity to get to the helpless dragonets. Snivels darted away, catching the attention of a few boars, who turned back to the dragons after he left.

 _Torch is a baby,_ Snivels said in his thoughts, _I have to warn them!_

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup went to the forge to talk to Gobber.

"It's weird," said the young Haddock, "Its like Toothless is jealous, or something." He added with a dose of sarcasm, "Which is great."

"Another thing we have in common," Gobber said, "Something must be going on under the surface. Dragons are complex creatures, Hiccup, and work on many emotional levels. Me, I've only got the one." "You mean the one that makes you as stubborn as ever other half-brained Viking in the entire Barbaric Archipelago?" asked Kickin' Hawk from his spot on the roof of the forge. He looked down at Hiccup. "No offense." "None taken," Hiccup said.

Just then, Toothless leapt out of nowhere, roaring. "Whoa, okay, Toothless!" Hiccup exclaimed. He turned to Gobber. "See? This is what I've been talking about."

Toothless reared up and roared, flying out his wings. "Toothless, settle down," Hiccup said. But the Night Fury didn't listen. He ran around, roaring loudly. "Gobber, grab him!" Both Gobber and Probopass jumped in front of Toothless. "You want to dance, big boy?" Gobber challenged, "'Cause I've got my dancing shoe on!"

The Night Fury paid little attention to him, he turned in the direction of the forge. Thinking that Torch might be in there, Toothless bounded towards the forge. Gobber grabbed the Night Fury's tail. "Gotcha!" His excitement didn't last long, though, as Toothless bounded into the forge, causing all kinds of shields, weapons, and tools to fall off of the walls. Toothless leapt out the window, flinging Gobber into a cupboard, causing him to let go. But the Vikings wasn't upset. "My panpipes!" he said, holding up the instrument, "Now I can get the band back together!"

Kickin' Hawk noticed the Night Fury leave the forge, and was about to jump down and grab him when something else caught his eye. Two little dragons, Typhoomerangs, were crawling in the direction of the Academy. Curious, the Hawlucha jumped down and started to follow them.

Neither Hiccup nor Toothless noticed Kickin' Hawk leave. "Toothless, back down!"

The Night Fury scowled at his rider, who glared right back. The stare-down was interrupted by Gobber playing some notes on the panpipes. "Not. Helping." Hiccup said through gritted teeth. Gobber stopped playing. "Sorry."

Hiccup stepped closer to Toothless. "I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it!"

Toothless growled and rushed off.

The moment of tension was interrupted by Gobber playing a note on the panpipes. Hiccup shot him a glare.

"What?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Kickin' Hawk had followed the little Typhoomerangs to the arena to see that Snivels was training with Torch. The other Pokémon Go-Getters were watching from the other side of the arena.

"Torch, sit."

Torch sat.

"Stay."

Snivels walked to the other side of the arena.

Torch stayed where he was.

"Torch, heel."

Torch got up and walked over to Snivels.

Kickin' Hawk glided in and landed next to Snivels. "I'm surprised he's actually obeying," he said.

"The trick is to know what he wants to do, when he wants to," Snivels said. He then noticed the other two Typhoomerangs entering. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked as the dragons walked up to him.

"You know them?" Blaze asked from the other side of the arena.

Snivels nodded and picked up the blue Typhoomerang. "This is Kindle." The yellow dragonet then climbed up his back and peeked over his frill. "And that's Singe."

Kindle looked up at Snivels. " _Why didn't you tell us that you knew where our brother was?_ " she asked.

Snivels looked at her. "I was running for my life from an angry mother dragon, I didn't exactly have the time to tell you," he said apologetically.

He was interrupted by the arrival of the riders and their dragons, minus Toothless.

Hiccup was the first to notice the other two Typhoomerangs. "Who are those guys?"

Snivels set the dragons down. "They're Kindle and Singe. I found them in the forest last night, and they obviously followed me here."

"So, you snuck out?" Blaze asked.

Snivels sighed. "Yes, yes I did."

Hiccup paid very little attention to that small detail, as he had concerns of his own. Astrid noticed his disappointment and tried to comfort him. "Don't worry. You did the right thing with Toothless. He'll snap out of it."

"Yeah? Well, what if he doesn't?" Snotlout asked. He pointed at Hiccup. "Then you won't have a dragon to ride. And if you don't have a dragon to ride, then you can't be leader of the Dragon Academy!"

Snivels stepped forward. "If you were smart, you'd realize that since Astrid is second-in-command, she'd be the leader if Hiccup wasn't able to."

Astrid smiled at Snivels before flashing Snotlout a smug grin. "Do you really want that?"

The twins then arrived on Barf and Belch, along with Zweilous and the Nidos. The Zippleback landed in the middle of the arena, and its riders jumped off. "You will not believe what we saw!" Tuffnut said in excitement.

"Excuse me," said and annoyed Snotlout, "We're busy having a power struggle." Snivels glared at him.

"We are not having a power struggle," Hiccup said.

"The entire forest," Tuffnut continued, "Ultimate destruction!"

"It was beautiful," Ruffnut added, "The whole thing was just demolished!"

Snivels walked up to Hiccup. "I can lead us there," he said. Hiccup nodded.

* * *

With Snivels leading them by flying on Buck the Grapple Grounder, the riders and Pokémon were able to find the spot where the twins said they had been. Because Toothless had been left in the cove, Hiccup was riding with Astrid on Stormfly. He and the others were both amazed and surprised by the destruction of the forest. It looked like a fire had started in the forest before being picked up and spun around by a tornado.

"Like we said," Ruffnut said, "Ultimate destruction."

Snivels and the dragons landed near the burned area. The riders dismounted their dragons to get a better look. Seconds later, Torch, Kindle, and Singe arrived.

"I know we've seen this burn mark before," Hiccup said, looking at Torch, who flew up onto Fishlegs. "Not this big, though," Astrid added. "You do know what this means, right?" Fishlegs asked nervously. Hiccup nodded.

"Big burn mark, big Typhoomerang."

It was at that moment when they noticed a large red dragon, similar to a Timberjack, circling the sky on the other side of the newly-made clearing.

"He looks angry," Tuffnut said with a grin. Nidorino backed away.

"It's not a he," Snivels said. Everyone turned to look at him as he continued. "It's a she. That's their mother."

"Torch, Kindle, and Singe are babies?!" Astrid exclaimed.

"That's what Toothless was trying to warn me about!" Hiccup said, realizing the truth. "And I wasn't there to support him," Snivels said in disappointment and embarrassment.

Fishlegs looked at Kalama, frightened, as Kindle and Singe jumped onto him to get to their brother. Fishlegs unconsciously grabbed the young dragons. "Whatever gets between that mother...and these babies...is gonna get fried!"

He passed the babies to Tuffnut, who immediately passed them to Ruffnut. "You take them!"

But Ruffnut passed them to Snotlout. "I don't want them!"

Frustrated, Snotlout passed the dragons to Hiccup. "Just leave them, and let's get out of here!"

"Hold on!"

Everyone turned to look at Snivels, who then grabbed the young Typhoomerangs. "I'm the one who brought these guys to the village," he said, "So I should give them back."

It was at that moment when Kalama turned her head and spotted them. She snarled at Snivels, seeing that he was holding her precious babies. Snivels quickly set them down. "Go home to your mother, guys." But the Typhoomerangs just looked back at him.

Kalama continued to glare at them before she let out an angry roar. The mother Typhoomerang then folded her wings and dived down toward the clearing.

"RUN!" Snivels shouted.

Hiccup turned and ran in the direction of the cove, with Snivels following not far behind. Everyone else mounted their respective dragon and flew off. Except for Astrid. She was about to go and help Hiccup, when her path was blocked by Blaze and Wavern. "Fighting the mother will only make things worse," said the Blaziken, "He'll be fine."

Astrid hesitated, something she didn't do often, before nudging Stormfly, who took off in the direction of the village. Blaze patted Wavern on the head before she took off, following her trainer.

Blaze was only half-right about Hiccup. He wasn't entirely fine. Especially since there was an angry mother dragon chasing him. He was only just able to stay ahead of Kalama as she flew at him. But her focus wasn't exclusively on Hiccup.

"Would you guys please stop following me?!"

For some reason, Torch and his siblings wouldn't stop following Snivels. Call it loyalty, or just plain insanity, but whatever it was, it was only making the situation worse, since Kalama was chasing after then with the intent to get her dragonets back.

The trainer and Pokémon duo swerved in a different direction towards the secret cove, but the mother Typhoomerang was right above them. They were almost there, Hiccup could see the entrance to the cove.

"TOOTHLESS!"

Hiccup ran to the edge of the cove, jumping off, and was caught by Toothless. Hiccup positioned himself in the saddle, clicking his prosthetic in place. "Thanks, bud. Oh man, I'm so sorry, I should have listened to you." Toothless just snorted. They flew over Kalama, Snivels running after them, with the babies still following him. Kalama noticed her precious babies running away, and hurried after them.

"Why are you guys following me?" Snivels said in frustration, "You should be with your mother!"

Hiccup noticed the condition his friend was in, and knew that he had to do something. "Why are they following him?" he asked himself. Toothless snorted again and shrugged.

Torch, Kindle, and Singe wouldn't stop following the frantic Servine. Torch was following him because he had grown attached to him, while Kindle and Singe were following him because Torch was.

Hiccup suddenly noticed that the forest grew thicker up ahead, and shouted a warning to Snivels. The Servine then turned sharply, jumping over the babies. He dashed past Kalama, who tried to stop, but she was too big to make a such a sharp turn. She crashed to the ground. Snivels stopped running, and looked back at the mother. Hiccup and Toothless landed next to him. "I hope she's alright," Hiccup muttered.

Kalama quickly recovered from the crash and got up. She noticed her babies looking up at her. She leaned her head down and nuzzled them. The babies gladly returned their mother's affection. Torch looked back at Snivels and ran over to him. Kindle and Singe followed. Snivels looked up at Kalama, and growled a few apologies. Kalama shook her head, growling. "She said that she forgives us," Snivels told Hiccup.

Torch looked up at Kalama, and chirped. Kalama listened to her son, before looking at Snivels. The two exchanged a few growls and squawks before nodding. "What did they say now?" Hiccup asked.

"She said that Torch and I share a sort of bond," Snivels said, "And she agreed to join us, along with her babies." He then turned to look at his trainer. "Should we head back?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, yes we should."

* * *

All was peaceful that night as the sun set over Berk. Kalama, Torch, Kindle, and Singe had made themselves quite comfortable at the Academy. Hiccup was feeding Toothless, who was glad to be the only flying dragon in the house again. All of the Pokémon were asleep, of course. The day had been very exhausting.

Toothless gurgled happily and nudged his head into the belly of his rider, who laughed and said, "I should have known you were just trying to protect me. That's what you do."

And in three seconds, a freshly-regurgitated fish head was in his lap. "And then you do...that."

Toothless gave his version of a laugh.

* * *

 _Communication between dragon and rider goes both ways. Not only must the dragon follow the rider's lead, but the rider must listen to the dragon as well._

 _Because sometimes, what the dragon is trying to say is what you really need to hear._

* * *

 **Yes, instead of having them leave, I had the Typhoomerangs join Team Go-Getters.**

 **Review, follow, or favorite.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: In Dragons We Trust

 **Hey, it's time for the next episode!**

* * *

 _As you fly through life, it's always good to know who you can trust and who you can't._

 _I know I can count on Toothless. And I know that I can also count on Snivels. And it's important for them to know that no matter what, they can count on me._

* * *

Hiccup and Snivels both plummeted through thin air on a direct collision course with the sea below. Neither the human nor the Servine was panicking.

And for good reason. A screeching roar suddenly tore through the blue sky, and that dark shape of Toothless flew into view as he dove after his falling friends. Just before the two hit the surface, the Night Fury gained enough speed to swoop underneath them and catch them both on his back.

"Good job, bud!" exclaimed Hiccup. He slipped his prosthetic back into the stirrup that controlled Toothless's tail and steered the Night Fury back towards Team Go-Getters and the four Viking students of the Berk Dragon Training Academy.

"That was a little close, though," Snivels muttered, mostly to himself.

Hiccup turned to Fishlegs. "It's your turn, Fishlegs. Jump."

The lesson for that day was a set of training exercises that involved the riders free-falling through the air and trusting that their dragon would catch them before they hit either the ground or the ocean surface.

"I don't want to jump!" squeaked Fishlegs, peering over Meatlug's head at the sea far below.

"It's a trust exercise," sighed Hiccup, explaining for what felt like the millionth time that day. "You have to trust that Meatlug will catch you."

"I like to do my trusting with my feet on the ground, thank you very much," Fishlegs said.

Snotlout overheard from his position beside Fishlegs and yelled over in a sneering voice, "Like this, Chicken-legs!" He then slid off of Hookfang.

Hilariously, the dragon kept flying as if nothing had happened.

"Uh, should we mention something to Hookfang?" Tuffnut asked.

"Let me sleep on it," Ruffnut said, smirking.

Snivels muttered the word, "Twidiots," under his breath.

Heat and Vengeance flew up next to Hookfang, who looked at them. Heat pointed down at their falling trainer, and Hookfang followed the Magmar's finger to see Snotlout heading toward the ground at a dangerously fast pace. Hookfang shrieked before folding his wings and diving after Snotlout.

"Not feeling the trust!" Snotlout cried as he fell. Hookfang managed to catch him, but he couldn't pull up in time. The two of them smashed through the roof of a house.

Mildew's house.

Kickin' Hawk shook his head. "He's dead."

Blaze heard him and decided to try and make a joke out of it. "I'm not going to his funeral."

A very familiar shout suddenly came up from below, just as Hookfang flew up from the distant cabbage farm at a frantic pace and fell into formation with the others.

"You'll pay for this!" yelled Mildew. The group could just make out the speck of a man shaking his fist at them.

"Something tells me we're going to be hearing about this," Snivels grumbled.

"I totally meant to do that," Snotlout insisted, earning himself a glare from almost all the other riders, both human and Pokémon. "What?! I did!"

* * *

Stoick wasn't usually happy after a day of chiefing, but he was really upset when he got back that night.

Hiccup and his friends were eating, except for Snivels, who was giving the dragons their dinner, when Stoick slammed a flat, broken piece of wood on the table and glared.

"Shingle again?" Hiccup asked, sarcastically. "Didn't we have roofing material for dinner last night?"

Stoick just glared at him, unamused.

Hiccup sighed. "It was an accident, Dad," he said.

Kickin' Hawk got up onto the table and looked Stoick in the eye. "You of all people should know that that hag always makes things sound worse than it really is," he said coldly.

"A dragon and a huge, obnoxious boy crashed through his roof," Stoick said.

"Maybe instead of yelling at us," Snivels said as he walked down the stairs carrying a basket of fish. "You should yell at the guy who pulled off the stunt in the first place." He set the basket down and tossed three fish over to Torch, Singe and Kindle, who snapped them up and swallowed them whole.

Amber sighed. "Of all the houses to crash through, Snotlout HAD to crash into Mildew's."

"I know," Snivels said, giving a fish to Lockheed. "Especially since he's not really on board with the whole 'dragons living on Berk' thing."

"Look Hiccup," Stoick said to his son, "I gave you the responsibility of training those dragons. Everyone knows that! All eyes are upon you, son. Whatever those beasts do reflects on you, and whatever you do reflects on me!"

Kickin' Hawk got off the table and headed for the stairs. "Vikings," he muttered, "Still as stubborn and narrow-minded as the day I first came here."

Hiccup sighed. "You're right, Dad. I'm sorry." He got up and started to leave, with Amber and Tito following.

But before he left, Stoick finished, "You and your friends are going to go back to Mildew's and fix that roof. Without your dragons."

"Do Dragon-types count?" Amber asked curiously.

Brumous appeared beside Stoick and growled.

"I'll take that as a yes," Tito said, trembling.

Snivels sighed and turned to the dragons. "Looks like you guys got a break," he said before holding out a fish for Toothless.

"Not so fast," Stoick said as Hiccup was about to leave. "Aren't you forgetting something? It's Boot Night. They need to be aired out." He took off his boots and gave them to Hiccup, who held them out at arm's length.

Snivels pinched his nose as best he could. "It's gonna take a lot more than air to 'air' those out, if you ask me."

Trying to breathe through his mouth, Hiccup stumbled outside. All over the village, Vikings were opening their front doors and walking outside with their equally repulsive boots and similar expressions on their faces.

"I hate Boot Night," moaned Fishlegs on one side of the village, throwing the boots out in front of the house.

In another part of the village, the twins were undergoing one of their usual fights, shoving the boots in each other's faces. "Why is his left foot always so much smellier than his right?" Tuffnut asked as Ruffnut held the boot in front of his face.

Astrid didn't even risk touching her pair, instead preferring to kick them away.

"Oh no," Snotlout was muttering. He took an involuntary sniff of his father's boots and instantly turned pale green.

Within two shakes of a dragon's tail, every Viking in the village was inside their houses, eager to get away from the unpleasant aromas.

Thus, there was no one to see the malevolent monster stalk into the village, snatching up all the boots and treading away, being sure to leave behind some footprints in the newly-fallen snow...

* * *

When Stoick woke up the following morning and wandered outside to grab his (hopefully) aired-out boots, barefooted, he was shocked awake to see that the leathery footwear was gone, leaving no trace behind.

"Where are my boots?" he wondered. He would never admit it, but his feet were already freezing cold from being outside in the frigid morning air.

"They've all been stolen," growled Gobber, limping over with his peg leg and one bare foot. "Every last one!"

"Oh, so that explains why my feet are so cold!" said Bucket, who was standing in a patch of snow.

Mulch hastily pulled his fellow Viking away before he could get frostbite. "Who could have done such a thing?" he wondered, just as bewildered as everyone else.

That was when Mildew and Eldritch arrived. Hiccup, who had just walked outside with his Pokémon friends, noticed that, of course, the old hermit's boots were right there on his feet where they were supposed to be. Whoever, or whatever, the thief was, they hadn't bothered climbing all the way up to the old man's house.

Still, that didn't stop Mildew from pointing any spidery fingers. "All I know is that they left a mighty big footprint," he said menacingly. He swung his staff toward a pair of footprints that had been left behind in a patch of snow.

Now that Hiccup looked around, he could see that there were footprints in almost every patch of snow around the house. He could only assume that there were more down in the village.

"Oh, these are Zippleback tracks!" chirped Fishlegs, who had arrived with Mulch and Bucket. He was examining the footprints closely as he continued. "You can tell by half-moon shaped arches. It's Dragon 101, I don't have to fill you in on that."

"But I do," said Snivels as he approached the footprint, pushing Mildew out of the way before getting down on all fours to get a better look. "If this footprint really was made by a Hideous Zippleback, it would be more than twice as deep as this." He stood up and addressed the gathering villagers. "A dragon didn't take the boots, and I can prove it! Just follow the footprints, and you'll see."

Everyone else decided to do just that. Snivels led the way, following the snow in the direction the footprints pointed. Hiccup, Astrid and the others tagged along close behind, walking down the steps and into the village plaza. Curious Vikings, also missing their boots, decided to go with them as the small party passed their houses.

Finally, right in the middle of the academy, the journey stopped. A pile of boots sat there, stacked up past the head of even the mighty Stoick the Vast. They were all ripped and torn, as if they had been used as chew toys for baby Gible.

To add insult to injury, the Thorston twins' Zippleback, Barf and Belch, was sleeping right next to the pile of torn boots.

"Just because there's a Zippleback sleeping next to a pile of boots, it doesn't mean he's the one that took them!" shouted an irritated Snivels. as Stoick held up a shredded boot.

But of course, no one listened.

"How are we supposed to do any work in this weather without our boots?" yelled one of the Vikings.

Another shouted, "This is outrageous!"

"How much more of this can we stand from the dragons?" demanded Mildew. His voice was answered by shouts of agreement.

"QUIET!"

Everyone stopped shouting, and turned to Kickin' Hawk, who had his hands cupped around his mouth. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Listen to yourselves. 'My feet are cold!'" he added mockingly. "Well, grow up! Everything around here is cold! I suggest that you all gather up your boots and get them fixed, since you're all so whiney about it!"

He then stalked off, muttering about 'Vikings' and 'should have stayed at the Ice Caves'.

"You heard him," Stoick called commandingly, taking charge. "You'll all be getting your boots back, good as new."

Predictably, Mildew was aghast as he protested, "That's it?! No consequences for these dragons?!"

"They took our boots, Mildew," Stoick said. "I don't think it's the end of the world."

"Oh, don't be so sure," the old man growled right back. "These are wild beasts we're talking about. There's no telling what they'll do behind our sleeping backs." With that, he stormed away, with his Banette hot on his heels.

As the Vikings and their Pokémon partners crowded around the pile of boots in order to retrieve their own pair and bring them to the forge to be repaired, the Zippleback woke up and trudged off, leaving a footprint in a patch of snow. Compared to the older one that was right next to it, it was almost more than twice as deep.

"Wow, Snivels was right," Amber said as they examined the fresh footprint. "That is pretty deep."

Frowning, Hiccup looked back and forth between the two footprints. He hadn't doubted that what Snivels had said was true, but seeing it with his own eyes made it seem so much more surreal.

 _Something definitely isn't right here,_ he realized.

* * *

"Just so you guys know, I'm really starting to get a bad feeling about all this," Snivels said, his voice heavy with anger. The Servine was pacing back and forth up on the old catapult tower, where Team Go-Getters had gathered.

Unfortunately for them, the four teenage Vikings had just so happened to have picked the same tower to lounge around at.

"Says the snake who has to talk mathematics," Snotlout scoffed.

"And science," Snivels quickly added. "You wouldn't understand it. It messes with your head if you spend too much time thinking about it."

Fishlegs groaned in discomfort, rubbing the back of his neck. "All this looking back and forth is killing me."

Snivels cast him an annoyed glance. "I do my best thinking when I pace." He paused to think for a minute before stating, "We're going on night patrol." That earned him a bunch of stares. "We'll patrol the village at night, and keep an eye on the dragons so they don't get blamed for anything else."

"Shouldn't we clear this with our parents?" blurted Fishlegs, sounding hesitant. "Because some of us aren't allowed out after a certain hour."

Snotlout sneered. "Not allowed, or afraid?"

The pudgy Ingerman's eyes widened with fear, and he said in a harsh, desperate whisper, "Hey, things happen after dark!"

"Guys, we have to do this!" interrupted Hiccup, sounding like he was reaching the end of his patience. "You know Mildew - he wants our dragons, every dragon, banished from Berk."

"Permission to shoot first and ask questions later!" volunteered Ruffnut said.

"Permission to skip the question!" added Tuffnut.

The only response they got was Sarin and Ricin rolling their eyes.

"We're just patrolling," Blaze said calmly. "No one is shooting anything. Not if you want Mildew to stay unhappy and the dragons to stay on Berk."

Scowling, Snotlout demanded. "Here's a question - where's the fun in that?"

"It's not supposed to be fun," Astrid told him sternly, the added, "Even if it is Snivels's idea."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked the Grass-type Pokémon prince.

Amber piped up just then. "If we're going on night patrol, we're going to need a name for it. I mean, a name other than Team Go-Getters, something that sounds like a patrol group that knows what they're doing."

"Might I suggest the Anti-Viking League?" grinned Kickin' Hawk.

"How about the Dragon Brigade?" suggested Xylia.

"'Brigade' is a good word," commented Palus. "But why don't we use that for a different name?"

As the Pokémon Go-Getters talked among themselves, the gears in Hiccup head started turning. After a moment of thought, he said, "What do you guys think of the 'Dragon United Monitoring Brigade'?"

They quickly worked out the rest of the details, mainly the orientation of shifts so that no one fell asleep on the job. They were reluctant to include a certain group of four, but relented when they realized that they would be needing all the help they could get. It wasn't until the design of special sashes (which Snotlout immediately claimed credit for) when Team Go-Getters found something wrong with their idea.

The only problem with being the 'Dragon United Monitoring Brigade' was that, in short form, the name was literally 'DUMB'.

"Oh, that is not a good acronym," groaned a certain Servine.

* * *

While the rest of Berk's residents turned in for the day, as snug in their wooden beds as one could possibly be, Team Go-Getters and the four Viking teens took turns patrolling the island. Most dragons slept at night, but Hiccup was still worried due to the presence of primarily-nocturnal creatures on the island that might cause trouble. That only reinforced the fact that someone had to keep an eye on them.

But for how long? Were they supposed to do this every night of their lives, just to make sure Mildew didn't have an excuse to banish the dragons? Just how far did they have to go in order to prevent that?

It was the second shift of the night, and Hiccup, Snivels, Fishlegs, Pad, Snotlout and Heat were out patrolling, the Jorgenson proudly wearing a sash that read 'DUMB' (how appropriate) across his chest. While Hiccup and Snivels rode Toothless through the pitch-black skies, Snotlout and Heat scoured the land. The Jorgenson led his Magmar through the streets with Hookfang and Vengeance stalking behind them, but suddenly halted their progress upon hearing a noise coming from the forge.

"Who goes there?" called Snotlout.

"Take a wild guess," replied Gobber, emerging from the shadows with Norward hovering behind him.

"And what do you think you're doing at this hour?" Snotlout demanded haughtily.

"Guarding my undies from trolls," the blacksmith growled. "What, you think they're gonna guard themselves?"

Instead of moving on like one of the Go-Getters would do, Snotlout grew annoyed. "I don't think I like your attitude," he said threateningly.

"Right back at you," Gobber responded evenly.

"Yeah," declared the Jorgenson, smugly, "But I'm the one with the sash." He pointed at the band of leather across his chest and smirked cockily. As he did so, Hookfang and Vengeance snorted and wandered off towards the stables.

Gobber snagged the sash on the end of his hook-hand, reading with some amusement, "'Dumb'. Suits you."

Meanwhile, a Charmeleon was holding doors to the stables open, smiling as she watched all of the dragons and Dragon-type Pokémon file in, one by one. Hearing a snort, Amber turned her head to see a Monstrous Nightmare and Salamence approaching. She held the door open a little wider as Hookfang and Vengeance filed in with all the others.

No sooner had the dragons all settled into their stalls, the door was sealed shut behind them to ensure that they wouldn't be disturbed. "I think that's everyone," Amber said to herself. She brushed the dirt off her claws before making a beeline for Hiccup's house, intending to fetch Astrid and the Thorston twins so that they would be ready to start their shift.

Overhead, Hiccup, Snivels and Toothless soared around the village one last time. Their shift would end soon, and they wanted to make sure they didn't miss anything. But they had no need to worry - as trainer and Pokémon swooped low over Berk on dragonback, all the stables were full and there was no sign of any dragons of Dragon-types wandering around in the moonlight.

"Well, Mildew will be happy when he learns what monsters do at night," Hiccup murmured. "They sleep, just like everyone else."

Snivels shook his head. "I highly doubt he'll be happy with that answer. He's getting pretty desperate, you know." His sharp Servine eyes caught movement in the shadows, prompting him to lean over Toothless's flank to get a better look. Unfortunately, whatever it was had gone, but it was safe for Snivels to say that it was definitely _not_ a dragon.

Toothless let out a soft croon as he angled his wings to land in front of Hiccup's house. Completely relaxed, Hiccup walked silently up the stairs toward his room, confident that nothing could go wrong that night.

Sadly, he was wrong.

For as he and his friends slept deeply, the malevolent monster from the night before stalked up the steps of the Great Hall and advanced inside, past the huge doors that were thrown open by the bitterly cold wind. Hidden under the cover of night, the monster went on a silent rampage, damaging everything that it could with its strong claws. Wooden pillars were scarred and banners were torn, but none of the food was touched.

The monster's only desire was to destroy.

* * *

 **Of course, every one of us knows who the culprit is. The narrow-mindedness of those Vikings made me want to scream when I watched this episode. I mean, haven't any of them heard of 'innocent until proven guilty'?**

 **Review, follow, or favorite.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Framed

 **I doubt any of us are going to like this...**

* * *

A flock of Terrible Terrors were soaring in the sky over the Great Hall, waking up the village with a noise that sounded vaguely like the crow of a rooster. Unfortunately, something much more serious had just woken up more than a few residents.

Hiccup and his friends had just walked into the Great Hall upon hearing Stoick's alarmed scream (which he claimed was really a shout) echo across the village. When they opened the doors, though, they were completely shocked at what they saw before them. Almost every surface in the vast room had been marred by fearsome marks that looked a bit like the work of a sword or other bladed waepon. Whatever it was, it had left many ugly gashes behind that made Hiccup wince when he laid eyes on them.

They walked around, observing the damage. Snivels was muttering to himself as he examined the gashes up close, while Kickin' Hawk looked unconcerned and Astrid looked distraught. Blaze and the other Pokémon had matching, stricken expressions on their faces.

When the four Viking teens arrived with their partners, the twins' faces lit up in awe of the destruction that had been wreaked.

"Who, or what, could have done such a thing?" asked Stoick. Hiccup was surprised to hear that he didn't sound mad - just confused. He assumed that was a good sign.

Instantly, Fishlegs looked up from his examination and said eagerly, "Looks like a dragon."

"We don't know that for sure, Fishlegs," snapped Hiccup, heavily hinting that he should keep his mouth shut.

"Sure we do," Fishlegs said, unaware of the hint. "Look at these claw marks, it was obviously a Monstrous Nightmare..." He was cut off by a certain Servine.

"If you were smarter, you'd take a closer look at the claw marks," Snivels said. He walked up to the pillar and pointed to the claw marks. "Whatever did this wasn't strong or sharp enough to be made by a Monstrous Nightmare, there aren't any scorch marks on the walls or floor, and on top of it all, none of the food was touched. If a dragon really had caused all this damage, then all of the food would be missing."

"Besides," said Blaze, "Our shifts had every dragon and Dragon-type on Berk accounted for at all times."

Amber quickly jumped in. "I secured the stable doors after Hookfang and Vengeance turned in for the night."

Hearing that, Snotlout let out an unnecessarily loud sigh of relief. " _That's_ where they went?"

Facepalming, Kickin' Hawk murmured in a voice that suggested he was trying not to lose it, "What happened?"

"Well," Snotlout began, trying to draw himself up in a dignified manner, "Near the end of our shift, I was detaining a suspect who _didn't show sufficient respect to the sash_." He glared patronizingly at Gobber, who had just walked in with Norward.

"I think I showed sufficient respect to a sash that said 'dumb'," he replied with an even glare.

"We've really got to change that name," muttered Astrid.

Forging ahead, Snotlout continued, "Anyway, while I was questioning said suspect" - he glared at Gobber again - "Hookfang and Vengeance may - and I'm not saying they _did_! - but it is possible that they...uh...wandered off."

"That's about when they came to the stables," Amber realized.

"Which means they couldn't have done this," said Snivels conclusively.

There was a sudden *bang* as the doors to the Great Hall opened. And there, strolling in to make thigs worse, was Mildew, with Eldritch in tow. "Oh, no, the rumors are true," cried the old man. "The Great Hall. So many memories. My three weddings, their three funerals. Oh, the funerals..." he sighed dramatically.

A little too dramatically.

"A dragon must have gone on a rampage," Gobber said seriously. "I hate to say it, Stoick, but you're gonna have to -"

He was cut off by the chief. "I know what has to be done, Gobber. Hiccup," he began anew, turning to his son, "Starting tonight, and continuing every night, I want every dragon on Berk under lock and key."

Snivels stood gaping at them. After everything he'd just showed them, they still believed that a dragon had caused the mess?!

Mildew wasn't satisfied with the decree, either. "What?! That's it?!" he cried, absolutely outraged. "Look at what they did!"

He would have said more, but Snivels cut him off. "Oh, come on! Am I talking to myself, here?!" he almost shouted. "A real dragon wouldn't just come in here and randomly destroy the place without even touching the food!"

Stoick's gaze was firm as he regarded the Servine. "I don't know why the dragons do what they do," he said, "But I can't let them do any more damage. My word is final."

Snivels let out a frustrated growl. Hiccup sighed and motioned for his friends to follow him. They knew where he was leading them, but although they didn't like it any more than he did, they were also wise enough to know that they didn't have much choice in the matter.

 _Our dragons will be sleeping in cages from now on,_ Hiccup sighed inwardly. _What could possibly be worse?_

Little did he know, he was about to find out what.

* * *

The team spent the whole day with their dragon friends, as far away from the village as possible. They had all packed food for lunch and dinner and ate in the cove. While on any ordinary day, it would have been fun, the mood wasn't exactly cheerful. The news that their dragons would be imprisoned every night deadened the excitement considerably.

At the very end of the day, Team Go-Getters packed up and flew their companions to the academy. It was crowded as could be, as dragons and Dragon-types of all shapes and sizes were already starting to doze off for the night.

Hiccup stood next to Toothless as he forlornly watched the sun go down over the horizon. Sighing, the team leader walked back to the arena and joined his friends one last time, before they would leave the dragons there for the night.

"I'm telling you, guys, the dragons are being framed!" said a desperate and determined Snivels.

"We know," Blaze reassured him. "It's convincing Stoick that's the problem."

Kickin' Hawk scoffed. "Good luck with that."

"Those tracks were supposed to have been made by a Zippleback," Hiccup began thoughtfully, "But they were no deeper than mine. Look at this." He pointed to the footprint the dragon had left in the snow as it was exiting the academy the day before. "I could lie down in that!"

Amber piped up, "And a rampaging Monstrous Nightmare would have left scorch marks in the Great Hall."

"Not to mention it would have also taken the food that was lying around," Xylia added.

Snivels slumped down in the corner. "At least you guys still listen to me," he said. Then, to Hiccup, he asked, "So what's the plan, leader?"

Hiccup thought for a moment. "Me and Snivels will go and talk with my dad, try to change his mind, you guys make sure that all the dragons stay indoors."

It only took a second for him to grab the Servine and mount Toothless, taking off for the Great Hall and leaving many concerned faces behind.

* * *

The words that Toothless had overheard coming from his rider from inside the Great Hall reiterated themselves in his head - "Just hear us out, Dad. When a Monstrous Nightmare gest mad, its whole body bursts into flames. Look at these holes - not one single scorch mark."

Of course, Snivels was dubious that the big, burly Viking that called himself the Chief would be convinced. Instead of following his trainer inside, he elected to stay outside the Great Hall with Toothless. Not bothering to wait and listen to the rest of the conversation, the Night Fury decided to wander into the village, with an obligated Snivels following.

The Servine's sharp eyes caught a suspicious movement from another part of the village. He immediately went from an idle stroll to a defensive stance, an action Toothless copied when he realized that his friend was no longer walking beside him. Softly, the Pokémon and dragon duo tiptoed after the retreating figure they could just make out in the shadows, sniffing the air every now and again for possible scents.

Before they knew it, they found themselves in front of the Hooligan tribe's armory. Even from outside Snivels could smell the cold metal of dozens of offensive weapons that had been used to chop the heads off of whatever dragon or Dragon-type a Viking had encountered during the war.

The door suddenly swung open and rapped loudly against the side of the building, startling both Snivels and Toothless into freezing in place. When nothing else happened, Snivels muttered, "come on," under his breath, treading lightly into the building. He wanted to catch whatever was making that noise - if he knew who the culprit was (and he already had a good idea who), they would be one step closer to proving that Mildew was dead wrong about the dragons.

Focused on finding out who was looking for trouble, neither Snivels nor Toothless noticed the Viking who had been tossing a bucket of waste out of his window, and had seen the Night Fury meander into the armory. That Viking watched with eyes narrowed, waiting to see what would happen.

Ever so cautiously, the Servine and Night Fury edged their way further into the armory, sniffing around in an effort to detect any abnormalities in their environment. Of course, it was difficult since neither of them had dared to go into the armory before.

There was another rapping sound, this time caused by the window being flung open. Feeling the rush of cold air blowing in from outside, Toothless allowed Snivels to climb onto his back so he could see out the window. Despite lacking the ability to see in the dark, the Servine easily caught sight of the malevolent monster from the previous nights making his escape, his smaller accomplice hot on his heels. Snivels narrowed his eyes at the culprit and growled, "I knew it!"

He was about to climb out through the window and run after them when the faint smell of smoke prompted him and Toothless to turn their heads back toward the armory. It was coming from a barrel resting in a dark corner, full of something whose scent did not bode well. The crackling sound of the light source upon the barrel made their eyes widen in fear.

Fire!

The sound of a terrible explosion shattered the still night air, startling the entire village. Even from the Great Hall, the sound was audible, and Hiccup, Stoick and Brumous immediately rushed out to what they initially thought was an attack by an enemy tribe. The Go-Getter leader noticed two things - that Toothless and Snivels were gone, and that there was a flickering orange light coming from down in the village.

"The armory!" yelled Stoick, rushing down the steps and into the village. "Everyone, grab some buckets!"

Hiccup gasped. The armory was going up in flames!

When he got there, he tried to slow down too fast and ended up stumbling on his prosthetic leg. The huge building, being utterly consumed by towering flames, was a terrible thing to behold up close.

"Toothless!" screamed Hiccup.

The Night Fury heard him and warbled, revealing his position behind the concerned rider. He was laying in a soft patch of grass a good deal away from the blazing building. Snivels, however, hadn't been so lucky. The force of the explosion had sent him flying headfirst into a large rock, and was knocked out cold. The concerned Toothless licked the injured area on the Servine's head that would most certainly be a nasty bump by morning.

"No," murmured Hiccup, sprinting over to the black dragon. "Gods, please, no!" He knelt beside the still form of Snivels, hesitating slightly before he placed a hand on the Servine's chest. His fear of the absolute worst quickly evaporated when he found an unmistakable heartbeat.

"You're okay," Hiccup breathed, clutching his friend's unconscious form like a lifeline. "It's going to be alright. You're safe now."

"It was him!"

Everyone turned in shock to look at Toothless as a Viking pointed an accusing finger at the Night Fury. "He set the armory on fire!"

Hiccup's grip on Snivels loosened greatly. "Toothless?" he asked quietly, staring at the black dragon incredulously.

Toothless shook his head frantically. He seemed to be saying something along the lines of, _No, Hiccup. It wasn't me._

Hiccup gently shook Snivels, trying to wake him. If he had been in the armory with Toothless, then surely he would know what happened. He had witnessed the crime, he knew who the culprit was!

But he was out like a light.

The fire was over within a single minute after it had started. It burnt itself out, having devoured its fill of the armory. The ruined building collapsed in on itself with an almighty, final crash that left behind a deafening silence.

"Prudence!" Gobber wailed. He dug out a ruined sword from the remnants of the armory and sobbed, "My poor darling! I'm so sorry. You should have led a long, bloodletting life."

Norward the Probopass looked at his trainer like he'd sprouted another head right in front of him.

"I know what I saw," claimed the Viking, folding his arms. "That dragon walked into the armory, and all of a sudden, there were flames everywhere!"

"I saw it too!" snarled Mildew, limping his way to the head of the crowd. "Hiccup's dragon has left us all utterly defenseless!"

Hiccup suddenly became more desperate than he ever had before - even more so than the time when he had tried to convince his father not to eradicate the dragons from Dragon Island. "Dad! You _know_ Toothless! He would never do such a thing!"

"Sure, listen to your boy, Stoick," Mildew growled, persistent as ever. "That's what got us into this mess!"

Stoick merely nodded dismissively, and the old man wisely moved away. But as he passed, he added to Hiccup, "See what happens when you leave your dragon alone, unsupervised?"

Not expecting something like that to come from Mildew, Hiccup stiffened and questioned, "Wait, what did you say?"

But Gobber interrupted him. "Sydney! I guess your throat-slicing days are over."

Hiccup instinctively stilled when Stoick walked up to him. His breath was held as he waited for his father to speak, knowing that whatever it was he head to say, it wouldn't be good.

"These dragons have caused too much damage," the chief told his son, grimly. "It's no longer safe to have them on Berk. I want them gone. Round them up and take them all to Dragon Island."

Hiccup was too shocked and dismayed to even utter a single word.

"By the end of the day tomorrow," Stoick proclaimed to the crowd, "There will be no more dragons on Berk!"

"Finally!" whooped Mildew.

Idly, Hiccup cradled Snivels's unconscious form in one arm and extended his free hand to touch Toothless's snout, and realized that the dragon was shaking.

The Vikings dispersed, talking lowly amongst themselves. None of them sounded particularly happy, but whether or not that was because of the dragons' banishment, no one felt comfortable enough to say.

"Don't forget, boy," Mildew said to Hiccup as he left also. "After you drop of your dragons, you'll be fixing my roof." Then he hobbled away, uncharacteristically cheerful.

"Snivsie!" cried Amber, who was suddenly there along with the rest of Team Go-Getters. She knelt down next to her boyfriend, cradling his head in her claws. "What happened?"

Hiccup opened his mouth to speak, but he barely got a word out before the Servine in his arms suddenly coughed.

Jumping back in surprise, Amber tried, "Snivsie?"

"Hic," Snivels gasped. "Tell Hic - " He didn't get the chance to finish, as his eyes slid shut and he was out again.

"Tell me what?" Hiccup cried desperately. "Snivels, what did you see? Who did this to you?"

Too late. They wouldn't be getting any answers out of him for a while.

"This is wrong," Hiccup finally said, his voice trembling with anger and sadness. They were so close to the answer, it was sitting right here in his arms, but fate had to be cruel and prevent them from receiving it when they needed it most.

"I know," despaired Astrid. "It's horrible. It's the worst day of my life."

"No, something here doesn't add up," the Go-Getter leader insisted.

"Those Vikings are such idiots," growled Kickin' Hawk. He stomped away in the opposite direction, adding, "Come and find me when that monster chief finally gets himself a proper heart."

"Guys," Hiccup pleaded, looking up at all of them. "The answer to this whole thing is right here in front of us" - he pointed to the unconscious Snivels - "We just need more time to fix this!"

But no matter what he did and said, he knew it was over.

* * *

The bones of the Red Death, who had once ruled the dragons, were right there where they had been left after the battle on Dragon Island. Hiccup and his friends urged their dragons to land near the massive skeleton, while the rest of the dragon and Dragon-type populace followed. The land-bound creature rode on the backs of the air and sea-going ones, the same way they had come and gone from Berk in the days of the war.

Hiccup had decided to bring the still-unconscious Snivels along. Even if he couldn't bid the Speed Stingers farewell, he could still give them one last moment with their adopted family member.

The landing was unusually rough, almost as if the dragons were distracted. They had picked up on their riders' sadness and figured out that their trip to Dragon Island would, indeed, be their last flight together. From now on, all their flying would be done without the now-familiar weight of a human or non-Dragon-type Pokémon on their backs.

"I'm going to miss you," Astrid murmured to Stormfly. The Deadly Nadder warbled sadly and nuzzled the girl's arm.

Blaze merely patted Wavern's nose with a sad smile and headed for the boat, the one Team Go-Getters had pulled through the water while the were flying on their dragons.

"Okay, Meatlug," choked Fishlegs as he and Pad piled large rocks on top of one another in front of the Gronckle and her Goodra companion. "There are plenty of boulders and berries for you if you both get hungry...don't eat any limestone, Meatlug...you know it doesn't agree with you..."

Too sad to finish his goodbye, the 'husky' Ingerman choked out a final farewell and sped toward the boat. His Lombre shared one last slimy hug with Numeru before following his trainer.

"Be strong, guys," Snotlout told Hookfang and Vengeance. "I know you're going to - "

A flock of Wingull suddenly flew by, and the Monstrous Nightmare and Salamence eagerly chased after them, soon vanishing amongst the craggy cliffs that dominated the shoreline.

"They're crying," Snotlout claimed, draping am arm around Heat's shoulders. "They're crying on the inside."

His Magmar didn't look very convinced.

Unable to say anything, the Thorston twins took turns hugging Barf and Belch's heads while the Nidos patted each of the Zweilous's heads.

While all of the human and Pokémon and dragons parted ways, Raptor stood still as a statue on top of the tallest rock he could find. The lead Speed Stinger stared down at the unconscious form of the Servine he and Streak were glad to call their friend. Snivels never even had a chance to say goodbye before Raptor turned and ran away, leading his mate and son further inland.

Hiccup sadly removed Toothless's saddle and prosthetic fin and placed them between two large rocks. Toothless tried to follow him to the boat but Hiccup stopped him. "No, bud. You have to stay here and take care of all the other dragons. It's what you're born to do, remember?"

He gurgled softly and looked at his rider, sadness in his eyes. "It's going to be okay, Toothless," Hiccup said, "Trust me." He held out a hand, and after a moment Toothless pushed his head up against it, saying that he did and always would. Hiccup hugged him one last time before walking back to the boat.

The boat set off, leaving the dragons and Dragon-type Pokémon to stare after it from the rocky beach that it left behind. Hiccup leaned against the mast and watched Dragon Island shrink farther and farther into the distance. He glanced over to his right in response to a movement from the corner of his eye, and witnessed Astrid join him.

No one spoke on the trip back to Berk. It was totally quiet, apart from Amber's sobs as she knelt beside Snivels's body with a worried expression on her face.

Something suddenly occurred to Hiccup. Speaking to no one in particular, he said, "There's something Mildew said that I can't stop thinking about."

Everyone looked over to stare at him.

He continued, "He said 'See what happens when you leave your dragon alone, unsupervised?' He knew that Toothless wasn't with me just before the armory fire."

Astrid in particular was looking at him with interested suspicion. "So..." she prodded.

"So, he lives on the other side of town," Hiccup told her. "How would he know what had happened, and how would he know where we were before the fire?"

There was dead silence as everyone digested this information.

The silence was broken by Snivels coughing himself awake.

"Snivsie!" Amber cried with relief. The look on her face told Hiccup that she'd feared the Servine had died.

"Not Toothless," Snivels wheezed between coughs. "Not dragon. I saw. Mil - " Again, he didn't get to finish before slipping back into unconsciousness.

But Hiccup didn't need him to finish. He knew what the Servine had been about to say, and he could tell from the looks on his friends' faces that they all knew it, too.

 _Mildew._

* * *

Hiccup was up on Mildew's roof, nailing in new shingles while the old hermit in question wheeled what remained of his cabbages into town. Snivels was still unconscious, so he'd laid the Servine in his bed while he recovered, with all the other Pokémon stayed to watch over him just in case.

The minute he could no longer see Mildew, the Go-Getter leader tied a rope to the exposed rafters and slid down into the depths of the house. It was a very simple little home - made mostly of stone on the inside, and decorated with a closet, bed, shields and weapons nailed to the walls, and dragon skulls hanging from the ceiling. Nothing was too fancy, but the closet was a bit unusual.

"Well, Mildew certainly has a type," noted Hiccup, examining the shields (which were decorated with portraits of the old hermit's three deceased wives - and Fungus). He shuddered with disgust.

His search brought him next to a cooking pot in the corner of the room. Curious, he lifted the lid, only to immediately recoil at the sight and smell of its contents.

The closet caught Hiccup's eye as he was looking around. Well, at least, he assumed it was a closet - it was an alcove in the wall blocked by a curtain. The curtain in question just barely reached down to scrape the floor, where there was something poking out from behind it. He swept the curtain aside, making its metal rings rattle loudly against the bar they were attached to - and sucked in a breath, astounded at what he had found.

At first, it seemed like nothing special. There was a long stick, like the one Mildew was always seen to use while walking - but upon closer inspection, it had a set of genuine Monstrous Nightmare talons tied on one of its two ends. Lying on the floor beside the staff was a pair of stuffed Zippleback feet, which were hollowed out to function as boots.

Cautiously, Hiccup grabbed the items and pulled them out of the closet to get a better look. This was the proof he needed. Snivels obviously had his suspicions from the beginning, but seeing these items made it clear that Mildew had been behind every incident that had happened in the past few days. He had used the Zippleback boots to sneak into the village and swipe the boots, making sure to leave footprints behind. Then he had used the Monstrous Nightmare claws to gash the walls of the Great Hall.

The moment Hiccup's mind drifted back to the night the armory had exploded, his heart sank down to his stomach. Snivels catching Mildew in the act had left him vulnerable to the explosion, and he was lucky to have not died as a result.

Had Mildew somehow planned to target the Servine as well as Toothless? Considering how Snivels was the biggest threat to Mildew's plans from the beginning, with all that he knew about dragons and how the evidence at the crime scenes didn't fit, it was certainly possible.

 _He almost killed Snivels..._

All of a sudden, the doorknob rattled. Hiccup stiffened and shoved the items back into the closet, then climbed up the rope with unmatched speed. He made it to the roof just before the door swung open. In stalked Mildew with his pet sheep and Banette partner.

"I'm home, ladies!" he called, presumably to the shields on the wall. "What's that you say? Nothing? Perfect..."

The unpleasant old man immediately made his way to his closet, where he pulled out his Zippleback boots and Monstrous Nightmare claws. "These served us well, boys," he murmured. "Shame we have to get rid of them." As he turned to leave the house, he whispered to Eldritch, "I never thought your Will-O-Wisp would have such a good use."

So, the Banette had played a part in the old man's scheme after all.

From the rooftop, Hiccup watched helplessly as Mildew, with his sheep and Banette following, made his way slowly to the edge of the cliff near where his house was stationed and threw the proof of his actions into the ocean.

* * *

 _Do you have someone that you can trust with your life? If so, you don't know how lucky you are._

 _Hold them close to your heart and never let go, because_ _there are others out there who will use that trust against you…_

* * *

Through the endless big blue the Zippleback boots and Monstrous Nightmare claws drifted, after hitting the seabed and being carried off by the current. Fish swam around them, hoping to find something to nibble on but leaving in disappointment. An eel darted forward to investigate, but decided to go after the fish instead, and left just as quickly.

Onward the items floated, with no destination other than where the current pushed them. After an eternity, they finally settled - or, more accurately, got stuck - on a bed of coral. Several normal fish swam back and forth past the boots and claws, along with the occasional Magikarp, Goldeen and Feebas.

One creature stood out from all the rest. A three-foot-long, pink serpentine Dragon-type stopped and stared at the peculiar items that had gotten themselves stuck right in the middle of its home turf.

The Pokémon tilted its head and blinked its big, purple eyes, uttering out a confused, " _Dratini?_ "

* * *

 **Team Go-Getters will be trying to get the proof in the next episode, and you-know-what. Review, follow, and favorite.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Alvin and the Outcasts

 **While the teens try to find the proof they need to show Stoick the dragons are innocent, old enemies of Berk return to take what they want.**

* * *

 _There's an old Viking saying - when your friend is roasting, you're the one who feels the fire._

 _Mildew has made the entire village believe that dragons are too wild, that we can't all live in peace._ _He's wrong, and we're going to prove it._

* * *

It had been an entire day since the dragons were banished from Berk. Needless to say, it hadn't been a particularly good day. No one, not even the adult Vikings, seemed to be in a good mood - not even Mildew. But then again, he was _never_ in a good mood.

Hiccup could only imagine the kind of mood Snivels would be in when he woke up to find all of the dragons and Dragon-type Pokémon gone. The Servine had been lucky to get out of the armory explosion with only a bump on his head (and maybe a concussion), but Hiccup still couldn't shake off the fact that his friend could have been killed, and it would have been Mildew's doing.

As far as he was concerned, things on Berk had pretty much gone back to the way it was before the end of the war. Gobber was banging away at his smithy, making weapons. Stoick and Brumous were pacing around the island doing chiefly things. Just like old times.

In fact, as he stood on Thor's Beach while looking out at the ocean, Hiccup half-expected to see a horde of dragons converging on the island to steal food, and Snotlout and his Magmar using him as a Flamethrower target.

Luckily, neither of those things happened.

When Hiccup had last seen Toothless, he had made a promise to come back and reunite with him. Right now, he planned to make due that promise. He had quickly organized a search for the items that Mildew had thrown into the ocean. While Palus the Marshtomp searched underwater, the rest of Team Go-Getters, minus Snivels, went down to the beach to see if anything had washed up.

It was one chance in several million, as Fishlegs said when he and Snotlout and the twins came down to the beach to see exactly what the team was doing.

"We've been here for hours and we haven't found anything!" Snotlout grumbled.

"You've only been here for ten minutes," Blaze corrected. "And you've done nothing but build that." She indicated the hideous amalgamation of rocks and twigs piled up in the sand with disgust in her voice.

"That," Snotlout informed her, proudly, "Is Snotlout Manor." He then sidled up to Astrid and added flirtatiously, "All I need now is a queen."

As much as she wanted to punch the arrogant Viking's face off, Astrid instead chose to ignore him.

Suddenly, Tuffnut jumped on top of the pile of stones and stomped on them, yelling and shouting gleefully as he knocked them all down.

"What are you doing?!" Snotlout wailed.

"Storming the castle," Tuffnut replied with a smirk.

Hiccup was rapidly losing patience. "Come on, guys! Mildew framed our dragons! I saw Zippleback boots in his house and watched him throw them into the ocean!"

Amber quickly jumped in. "Also, Snivels basically said that he had seen Mildew set the armory on fire." Then her face fell. "Hope he's alright..."

"I don't want to be Norbert the Negative," Fishlegs said. "But the ocean is really, really vast. The chances of finding the dragon feet are about as good as Snotlout and Astrid..."

"Don't go there!" Astrid snarled at him threateningly.

"Going nowhere," squeaked Fishlegs.

Softening her voice so Hiccup wouldn't feel like he was being attacked, Astrid informed him, "Fishlegs is if Mildew did throw them in the ocean, they're not just going to wash up on the shore here."

"Found it!" Snotlout suddenly shouted.

Hiccup's spirits rose...only to crash right back down to earth at what he saw.

Snotlout was standing by the shore cradling a small wooden club. "Haven't seen this since I was a baby," sighed the big-headed Jorgenson. "You never forget your first bludgeon."

Blaze gave him a very annoyed look. "Did his father drop him when he was a baby, or was he born like that?" she asked no one in particular.

There was a sudden splash from nearby, and they all looked to see Palus surfacing.

"Did you find anything?" Hiccup asked.

The Marshtomp shook his head sadly. "Nope," he said. "And that was after searching for an hour under the sea."

Sighing, Hiccup wished he could say something, anything, to assure his friends that they would find the answer somehow. But all he could think to say that that point was, "Keep looking."

* * *

Snivels was lying in Hiccup's bed with a peaceful look on his face, but the same couldn't be said for what was going on inside his head.

His dreams were full of fire, with no way to escape. In some scenarios, the flames were twisted into the face of the malevolent monster that had caused the armory explosion, the mouth opened inhumanly wide as the monster moved in close to swallow the Servine.

Snivels waited for the flames to consume him, but they never came. He opened his eyes to find himself suspended in a space full of stars.

And he wasn't alone.

An elegant Pokémon with blue and yellow coloration hovered ten feet in front of the Servine, her pink rings a dead giveaway to her identity.

"Cresselia," Snivels breathed in awe.

The Lunar Pokémon smiled sweetly. "Please, call me Celeste."

"Celeste," Snivels repeated, testing the name. "Why are you here? Besides ridding me of my nightmares, of course."

"I have a message for you," was the Cresselia's reply. "When you wake up, it will be a different Berk. The dragons are all on their own island, and they need your help. Find the pink Dratini who responds to the name Ryu, she will guide you to what your friends are looking for."

It took Snivels a minute to process the whole thing. "The dragons are on Dragon Island," he muttered. Then it clicked. "That monster got them all banished! We've gotta get them back!"

"You will," said Celeste reassuringly. "Fjord has a lot of faith in you young heroes. As do the rest of us in the Resistance." When the Servine gave her a look of confusion, she added, "Everything will become clear to you soon, I promise. But right now, you need to go find Ryu."

Snivels didn't even get the chance to ask a simple question before he suddenly jolted awake. Sitting up lightning fast, his eyes scanned the bedroom, landing on the empty slab of rock where Toothless normally slept. His heart sank as the reality of the situation suck in.

 _They really are gone. I had the answer to the whole thing, and I couldn't save them._

Then he realized, _That old man almost killed me!_

He was in such a rush to get out of the house, he barely noticed that Kickin' Hawk was also in the room. The Hawlucha had stayed behind to keep an eye on the Servine while the rest of the team searched for the items Mildew had thrown into the sea. When the prince's tail disappeared down the stairs, Kickin' Hawk started after him.

Snivels ignored the numerous people and Pokémon who were staring at him as he bolted through the village, heading for the nearest beach...until he heard Stoick's voice from inside the forge. The Servine slowed to a stop so he could listen, perhaps there was something important going on.

The familiar *clang* of a hammer beating on hot metal meant that Gobber and his Probopass were in there, too. "One down, three hundred and forty-five to go!"

"Can't you go any faster?" demanded the impatient chief. "We're entirely defenseless until you replenish our weapon supply."

Snivels wanted to say something like, "It's your fault 'cause you wouldn't listen!", but he knew a comment like that would result in him being frozen in a block of ice by Brumous's Blizzard.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before sending all the dragons away," Gobber replied evenly. Norward agreed, " _Probopass!_ "

Snivels mentally kicked himself for not thinking of that clever line the Viking blacksmith had delivered in spite of his absentmindedness.

"You know I had no choice," Stoick retorted. "They destroyed the armory."

"That's not true!" Snivels wanted to yell. But again, the thought of being frozen solid kept him silent.

Making a skeptical sound under his breath, Gobber got to work on another weapon and went on, "This would be a bad time to be attacked. Not that there's ever a good time, but this time would be _particularly_ bad."

"I know, Gobber," huffed Stoick, beginning to pace around the smithy with his trusty Beartic keeping on his heels.

Heedless of his response, the blacksmith said something that stopped the almighty chief right in his tracks.

"Especially by Alvin. Alvin the Treacherous."

Snivels had to duck to avoid being noticed as Stoick stared out the window and scowled at the sound of that hated name. The Servine had had his fair share of encounters with the mighty brute, chief of the entire Outcast tribe and therefore in charge of all the...well, _outcasts_ that lived on his island. Everyone sent to Outcast Island (an appropriate name if there ever was one) couldn't be trusted, and no one would dare take the tribe as their allies.

"Our oldest and most feared enemy," Gobber continued, as if Stoick wasn't there. "He'd gladly kill us all to take Berk for his own."

"I _know,_ Gobber!" shouted Stoick.

It was at that moment that Kickin' Hawk had caught up to Snivels. The Grass-type Pokémon prince shook his head. "Talk about intense," he finally said, in a very quiet voice. Noticing the Hawlucha's presence, he added, "I know I don't want Alvin and the Outcasts coming here."

"Nice to see you're feeling better," was Kickin' Hawk's only reply.

"Not until the dragons are allowed back on Berk," said the Servine. "Hard as it may be for you to believe, Cresselia just spoke to me in a dream. She said to find a Shiny Dratini named Ryu." He then turned so he was making eye contact with the Hawlucha. "Think you can help me find her?"

Kickin' Hawk responded with a firm nod. "Gladly."

* * *

As it turned out, the Servine and the Hawlucha didn't have to go very far to find Ryu. In fact, she may have been the one who found them.

The pink Dratini was on the beach, panting with exhaustion. It was clear to see why - she had the Zippleback boots and Nightmare claw-staff wrapped up in her coils, which had made it very difficult, if not impossible, for her to swim all the way to Berk.

"I guess Celeste visited her dreams, too," Snivels said, mostly to himself. It was really the only explanation as to why Ryu had known what the items were, and where she had to take them.

"Celeste?" repeated an intrigued Kickin' Hawk.

The tone of his voice told Snivels that he recognized that name somehow. Deciding it would be better to ask about that later, the Servine grabbed the claw-staff whilst giving Ryu's coils a gentle pat. The pink Dratini gladly loosened her grip on the items that had burdened her the whole way there, the boots tumbling into the sand. Kickin' Hawk was quick to grab them before the waves could wash them back into the sea.

Now all that was left was an exhausted Dratini.

Maneuvering himself slowly and carefully so as not to cause Ryu and further discomfort, Snivels slid himself into the sand underneath the pink Dratini. When he stood up, the Shiny Dragon-type settled into his yellow frill, coiling weakly around his neck like a scarf, or a feather boa.

It wasn't long after the small group had started toward the village that Ryu had fallen fast asleep, which Snivels found to be rather cute. "This is certainly a first for me," he whispered. "I've never had an adorable baby dragon go to sleep around my neck."

Kickin' Hawk gave a half-hearted chuckle. "You know," he began, "I heard that Alvin and his followers have been getting more active lately."

"From who?" asked a genuinely curious Snivels.

"The Resistance," Kickin' Hawk answered without any hesitation. "A peace-seeking organization that was formed during the first year of the Viking-Dragon War. It mostly consists of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, but other creatures are welcome to join. I, myself, joined them as a cadet a few years ago."

Snivels smiled at the idea of possibly meeting a Legendary or Mythical Pokémon. "Well, what did they tell you?"

"Word is Alvin's been looking for the 'Dragon Conqueror'," said the Hawlucha. "You hear anything about that?"

It wasn't hard for Snivels to remember. "'Ten feet tall and with the strength of a dozen men'," he repeated. "Those Outcasts are even more misguided than I thought. If a guy with that appearance really existed, he really wouldn't be that hard to find. Besides, 'conqueror' sounds a little too strong. I think 'Dragon Master' sounds a lot better. "

"That's what Fjord said, too," said Kickin' Hawk. "He's the Kyurem who delivered the Four Trainers Prophecy. You've heard of that, right?"

Snivels opened his mouth to speak, but barely a sound had been made when a horrible shrieking voice made them both jump.

"What's a dragon doing in the village?! Get that horrible beast out of here!"

Then, Mildew stopped dead and his eyes widened as he saw Snivels was carrying the sleeping Dratini around his neck, and there were some very familiar objects in his and Kickin' Hawk's hands.

"B-But...I just...threw them...how...how did...?" the old man stammered, looking from the staff and boots to the Pokémon and back again.

"Let's go," said Kickin' Hawk, "Before things get ugly."

In the blink of an eye, the Pokémon were gone, heading for the chief's house, leaving a numb Mildew behind.

"Oh, this is bad, this is very bad..." worried the old man. "I thought those were gone for good!" He then paused and continued, "Next time, I'll think of a way to get rid of the dragons while taking that Grass Snake with them."

Grumbling under his breath, Mildew walked back home, already trying to think of an alibi to tell Stoick.

* * *

Hiccup found Stoick back at his house, where the chief and his Beartic were bent over a table staring at a handful of kitchen utensils. But of course, the look of urgency on his son's face convinced the chief that whatever problem there was had to be worse than the possibility of the Vikings having to defend the island armed with forks.

"I'm telling you, Dad!" Hiccup finished, after explaining the situation. I saw a pair of Zippleback boots in Mildew's house. He must have used them, along with a set of Monstrous Nightmare claws, to make the footprints of dragon that supposedly stole the boots, and to disfigure the Great Hall."

"That does sound serious," Stoick replied, getting up from the table with a grunt. "Well then, let's have a look at them."

Scratching the back of his head, Hiccup reluctantly added, "Yeah, um, there's kinda going to be a problem with that. I...also saw him throw them into the ocean."

Stoick nodded slowly, both with understanding and with sympathy. "I know you're upset about the dragons, son," he said, "But you're going to need evidence to accuse a man of high treason."

Hiccup sighed in defeat.

Just as he was about to leave, the front door suddenly burst open, and in came a Hawlucha and a Servine, the latter of whom had a pink Dratini hanging around his neck, fast asleep.

"Snivels!" Hiccup exclaimed, happy to see that his friend was alright. "Why didn't you tell us you were feeling better?"

Snivels didn't bother to reply to that, instead preferring to toss a pair of boots and a staff at his trainer's feet. Hiccup gasped, and Stoick blinked - they were the items that Mildew had thrown into the sea!

"H-How...How did you find these?" the younger trainer asked. "They must have been carried how many miles out into the open ocean!"

Snivels patted the sleeping Dratini's head, gently so as not to disturb her peaceful slumber. "We had a little help," the Servine whispered. "Meet our new friend, Ryu."

"There's your evidence," said Kickin' Hawk, forcefully handing Stoick the boots and staff they'd managed to recover.

Stoick took them and gave them a long, appraising look. "Alright," he finally said. "Brumous and I will go take these to Mildew's and have a little chat with him. You all stay out of trouble while we're gone."

Snivels gave Hiccup a look of pure satisfaction. They were going to get their dragons back, he just knew it!

* * *

Hiccup, Snivels, and Kickin' Hawk found Astrid sharpening her axe at the top of the catapult tower. She was curious to know why they were all smiling like lunatics, but she ended up with a smile of her own when they told her why.

"Snivels proved that Mildew did it," Hiccup enthused. "We're going to see our dragons again!"

"Well, actually, it was Ryu who did most of the work," Snivels began.

Astrid wasn't even listening at that point. She was so happy that she hugged the Servine tightly, rocking him back and forth with glee.

"Um, your thanks is appreciated," he muttered awkwardly. "But if you could please let go..."

Astrid suddenly realized what she was doing and let go, then savagely punched him in the shoulder blade. "That's for making me happy enough to do that."

Grinning, Hiccup lightly punched her shoulder and added, "And that's for hitting my friend."

He immediately regretted it, of course. As he lay there gasping in pain and rubbing his shoulder, Astrid told him, "And _that's_ for touching me."

"You don't like it when your boyfriend touches you?" Snivels asked with a chuckle. Then he winced. "That didn't come out right."

Once again, he ended up getting slugged ruthlessly.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Blaze called. She was standing on the very edge of the tower, looking out at the distant rock spire maze that could be seen emerging from the vast ocean. The Blaziken sounded a little concerned, enough so the other three were drawn to her side.

"Why would one of the Berkians' ships be anchoring out there?" she asked, pointing toward the end of the maze.

Indeed, a small boat could be seen floating beside one of the rock towers, not moving despite the wind that had begun to pick up.

Hiccup took his spyglass out from under his fur vest and held it up to his eye, peering into the distance. "Because it's not one of their ships," he concluded, putting his spyglass away.

Kickin' Hawk raised a hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the light of the setting sun. His hawk-sharp gaze found the boat without the need of the spyglass. "Hiccup's right," he said. "It's the Outcasts."

That scariest part was how nonchalantly he had stated that fact.

* * *

Every Viking and Pokémon on the island was huddled in the Great Hall, either talking worriedly among themselves or huddled around the central fire with Stoick and Brumous.

The members of Team Go-Getters were together at a table in the far corner, whispering urgently amongst each other. Ryu was there as well, seeing as she had nowhere important to be at that particular time. Kickin' Hawk had reluctantly given Stoick the news about the unfamiliar ship in Berkian waters, and how it was most likely an Outcast boat, and the chief had called an island-wide evacuation to the Great Hall.

"This is no time to panic!" Stoick shouted above the hubbub of Viking voices. "That's just what the Outcasts are counting on!"

Suddenly, Spitelout rushed in, not bothering to close the doors behind him, and stopped at Stoick's side. He was panting for breath.

"Did you get a count?" asked Gobber.

"I saw thirty men at least," Spitelout replied tiredly. "All armed to the teeth. Lots of Houndoom and a Dusknoir. Without any weapons, we'll never be able to face them head-on."

"No weapons and Outcasts on our shores!" cried Mildew angrily. "All thanks to your boy and his dragons!"

"This is not the time, Mildew!" scolded Stoick.

"Yeah, shut up!" shouted another Viking.

"Haven't you done enough?" added yet another, whose voice was followed by a loud round of booing.

Hiccup glanced around quizzically at the group. Before he could ask anything, though, Xylia jumped in to explain.

"You should have seen it," the Grovyle said, beaming. "Mildew got his just deserts, alright!"

"The old coot got chewed out in front of the entire village by Stoick," Palus spoke up. "He even showed off the Zippleback boots and Nightmare claws and declared him and Eldritch as the guilty ones."

"And then Gobber gave him the _absolute worst_ tongue-lashing I've ever heard," said a disturbed Amber. "I didn't know Vikings had such a colorful vocabulary. Until today, that is."

Snivels leaned over to hug the Charmeleon. "Honestly," he said, "I can't believe they left out the part where Mildew almost killed me."

Stoick waved Mulch and Bucket over to his side and ordered, "Mulch, Bucket, gather up the mothers and the children. Get them to Thor's Beach, they'll be safe in the caves there."

Just like that, Blaze was standing tall and proud. "We can fight them! I've been trained by a shieldmaiden for nearly my whole life." She flashed a smile in Astrid's direction.

"Feisty," uttered Kickin' Hawk. "I like it."

Walking over to the team's table, Stoick took a battered hatchet out of his belt and placed it on top of the wooden surface. "Take this," he said. "It used to be Alvin's. Be careful. You don't know what Alvin is capable of."

Face set and determined, Astrid grabbed the hatchet and stood up from the table, motioning for the others to follow. She tucked the hatchet under her arm and commanded, "Alright everyone, grab what you can and follow me."

"Good thing there's someone on our side who knows how to fight," remarked Snivels.

Running ahead of the group, Hiccup stopped them from exiting the hall. "Guys, we need to go to Dragon Island and get the dragons. At least with them, we can defend ourselves."

"Pokémon can defend themselves just fine," said an offended Blaze.

"But he does have a point," argued the ever loyal Snivels.

Kickin' Hawk surprised everyone by jumping to Blaze's defense. "She never said he didn't." His eyes briefly locked with the Blaziken's and they both turned away from each other.

Was Hiccup imagining things, or did Blaze and Kickin' Hawk's cheeks suddenly get more red than usual?

* * *

Later that night, a longboat approached the island coast, running aground when it got there. A Dusknoir and several Houndoom jumped off the boat and onto shore, with big burly men following.

"It's good to be back on the shores of Berk," said the largest of the men. He turned to the Dusknoir that was floating next to him and asked, "Don't you think so, Eidolon?" The Gripper Pokémon nodded.

"Good for you, Alvin," chuckled a man with a bone clutched in his hands. "Not so good for them."

In the silence that followed, a soft slithering sound could be heard. A Serperior with a dark purple aura and eyes that were much more red than usual slithered down from the boat, stopping when she reached the two men. "Took you long enough to get here," she hissed.

Alvin grinned wickedly. "You know the agreement," he said. "We take you to Berk, you lead us to who we're looking for."

The Serperior turned and headed inland, with the men and Pokémon following.

"You're sure that we can rely on her?" Alvin's aid asked. "Because, quite frankly, she creeps me out."

"Of course we can trust her, Savage," Alvin snarled. "This Serperior has been helpful to us in the past. It's only a matter of time before the Dragon Conqueror is ours."

* * *

Stealthily as a group of Terrible Terrors in a nest of sleeping Golbat, Team Go-Getters snuck through the deserted village, slipping into darkened alleyways and shortcuts at every opportunity they got. So far, they'd yet to cross paths with any Outcasts, but Hiccup knew that it was too much to hope that they found Berk not worth the effort it took to conquer.

It quickly became apparent to the team leader that they were more likely to be spotted if they stayed in one large group. They needed to split up.

"Get everyone to the forest," he commanded to Astrid. "They'll be less likely to find you in there." He turned to Snivels and Kickin' Hawk. "You guys come with me."

The Servine was quick to follow his trainer, but the Hawlucha hesitated. He looked over his shoulder at Blaze's retreating form.

"Blaze!"

The Blaziken stopped and looked back at him.

Kickin' Hawk squirmed a little, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to speak. Finally, he managed to say, "Be careful."

Blaze gave him a firm nod that said, "I will," and a whole lot more.

Hiccup's plan was to go to the docks and get a boat, any boat, out into the ocean and toward Dragon Island. Even if they didn't reach the island until sunrise, they'd be safe from the Outcasts.

But unfortunately, every amount of luck in the world happened to be working against him at that very moment. When he, Snivels, and Kickin' Hawk got to the docks, they were quick to notice a small Outcast skiff slipping into the harbor right in front of them.

Thanking every Legendary and Mythical Pokémon that the crew hadn't noticed them, Hiccup and Snivels doubled back to the village. Kickin' Hawk went the other way, heading for the beach, but not before uttering to Snivels under his breath where he planned on going.

The trainer and his Servine had only run a few yards past the first house before they saw a dim orange glow appear around the corner and heard hostile voices talking to one another. Hiccup backed away from the approaching Outcast party, only to find that the crew aboard the skiff had climbed ashore already, much faster than he and Snivels thought possible, and were now right behind them.

Neither patrol had noticed the duo yet. Thinking quickly, the two friends ducked underneath the porch of the nearest house. They fit almost perfectly underneath, and the Outcasts and their Houndoom walked right past their hiding place without noticing them.

"Where's Kickin' Hawk?" Hiccup whispered under his breath, having noticed the Hawlucha's absence.

"He said he was going to get help," Snivel replied, his voice equally quiet.

Hiccup flinched at the sound of more footsteps heading their way. "Let's hope he makes it back soon," he said, "'Cause we're gonna need all the help we can get."

* * *

 **I know that it could be better, but I was kinda in a hurry. I'm interested what Cottonmouth25 has to say about this chapter. The rest of you, review, follow, or favorite!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Dragons Return

 **Some shocking revelations and a good fight!**

* * *

Alvin, Savage and Eidolon approached the large building overlooking the rest of Berk, situated on the same large hill as the Great Hall was. The Monstrous Nightmare figurehead carved into the roof, above the door, gave it away as Stoick the Vast's place of residence.

The leader of the Outcasts stopped in front of the porch and rested his hands on his hips, looking up at the familiar place. "Should we knock?" he asked his Pokémon partner. "I mean, what's considered diplomatic in these situations?"

Of course, the question was rhetorical. Eidolon floated up past the steps, up to the door, and threw it off of its hinges with one powerful Shadow Punch. The door went flying inside, and Alvin lumbered inside.

"That seems about right," he grunted with satisfaction. "Stoick! Show your face!"

He got no reply. There was a calm fire crackling softly in the fire pit, but apart from those flames, nothing moved nor made a sound.

"The old coward has turned and run," Alvin growled, as he made his way back outside.

"Sir!" called a voice, and he turned to see a small group of his soldiers and their Houndoom partners running up the slope toward him. The Outcast leading the group took a step forward and whispered in his ear for a few seconds, then backed away when he nodded thoughtfully.

"We'll split up," Alvin decided. He pointed to four soldiers and ordered, "You four go into the forest, while Savage and I go to the beach. And take your Houndoom with you, just in case. Tell me, Savage," he suddenly went on, after a brief pause, "How many hostages is a Dragon Conqueror worth?"

"Seven!" suggested Savage eagerly. "No, wait, maybe nine!"

The Outcasts left the house without another word. Four of the regular soldiers left with their Houndoom, while Alvin, Savage, and Eidolon the Dusknoir headed in the general direction of Thor's Beach.

From the wall shrouded in shadows, away from the light of the moon, Hiccup and Snivels looked at each other as they processed what they had overheard.

"Imagine if they were aware of exactly who they were looking for," said the Servine.

A smart thing to say, because imagining was pretty much the only thing Hiccup could do at that very moment.

* * *

Kickin' Hawk was gliding from one sea stack to the other, using the thermals to gain any height that he lost. He could feel the air getting chillier as he headed north, but he doubted he'd make it to his destination fast enough.

The amount of relief he felt when he saw a large green serpent soaring through the air in front of him was very great. He knew this Pokémon.

"Quasar!"

The Rayquaza turned his head back so fast, he thought he might get whiplash. He called back to the Wrestling Pokémon, "Lucha? Is that you?"

Kickin' Hawk stopped on the sea stack nearest to the Sky High Pokémon. "You know how I feel about that name," he said, as he tried to catch his breath.

"Sorry," said Quasar. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

The Hawlucha looked the Rayquaza right in the eye. "The Outcasts have arrived on Berk. I need you to help me gather as many Resistance members as you can, it's the only way we're going to get back in time to save the Trainers of Destiny."

"But they don't know of the prophecy yet," Quasar reminded him. "If what you say is true, I doubt this would be a very good time for them to meet with Fjord. He said he wanted to be the one to tell them."

A thundercrack from the skies above made them look up. A large, black dragon with an electric blue glow descended from above, the dark clouds having concealed his presence until that very moment.

"We can always send them a written message," said the mighty Zekrom.

"Or Serac," added a softer, more feminine voice. A large, white dragon with a fiery orange glow appeared out of the mist below them, flying up to their level so they could see her more clearly. "If Fjord can't make it, maybe his son can."

Quasar shook his head. "Serac is still very young. His powers are nowhere near as strong as Fjord's."

"We'll have to figure it out later," Kickin' Hawk said urgently. "The Trainers of Destiny are in danger, and they need our help _right now_."

That was something they could all agree on.

* * *

It didn't take long for the Outcasts to find and capture the villagers hiding on Thor's Beach. Inadvertently, if had been Bucket and Mulch who had led them right to the beach, allowing them to round up almost the entire Hooligan tribe. Of course, without weapons, the population of Berk was forced to surrender almost immediately to the evil soldiers and their vicious Houndoom.

Team Go-Getters was the next group to get caught. There was just no way they could hide from the dog-like noses of the Houndoom. The Dark Pokémon sniffed them all out with ease.

The teens were all clustered at the back, nearest to the water, whose tide rushed up and down the beach at regular intervals. There were their Pokémon partners, closely guarded by a trio of Outcasts and their Houndoom.

The biggest Outcast marched up to a tall rock platform at the head of the crowd, his Dusknoir and comparatively smaller aide at his side. Astrid and the rest of the team had no doubt this was Alvin, leader of the Outcasts.

The massive man smirked at his innumerable captives and began to speak in his low rasp voice. "If you haven't yet figured it out," he announced, "I'm the one and only Alvin the Treacherous. And just to be clear, that name was earned."

"'Alvin'?" asked Tuffnut in a very loud whisper. "How'd he earn _that_?"

Said murderous barbarian heard the remark, and Ruffnut's snickers, and glared down at the Thorston twins.

"Your leader's gone and abandoned you," continued Alvin, smugly. "But don't worry, Stoick doesn't concern me. I'm not here for him. I'm here for the Dragon Conqueror!"

At once, the members of Team Go-Getters exchanged glances. It didn't take a genius like Snivels - who was still reasonably absent - to figure out that Alvin was talking about Hiccup. But the way he referred to the young trainer as 'the Dragon Conqueror' was an obvious clue to the fact that he didn't know his true identity.

At least, for now.

Mildew stepped forward and said, snidely, in Astrid's ear, "Say goodbye to Hiccup."

He shouted Alvin's name, but that was the only word that made it out of his mouth before both Blaze and Astrid punched him right in the face, knocking him out cold. Eldritch the Banette made no move to catch his master as he tumbled into the sand.

When Alvin, having heard Mildew's shout, turned to look expectantly at them, the trainer and her Blaziken moved so they were blocking the old man's unconscious from his view.

There was a slithering sound, and everyone turned to see a Serperior approaching. A Serperior with a dark purple aura and eyes that were much more red than usual. "Give us the one we want," she hissed, "And you will all go free."

"So, you went and joined the Outcasts?" asked a voice.

The Serperior turned her head, her eyes landing on a Servine that was glaring at her.

"Believe me, it wasn't my first choice," she replied, her voice carrying a reasonable amount of disgust. "But you take what you can get in these islands."

"Not necessarily," said Snivels, a hint of a smile on his face. "Those who keep looking are sure to find what they really need."

Alvin eyed the Servine with interest. "You know him?" he asked the Serperior.

"Yes," she hissed in reply. "He's the son of my dead sister, Queen Salvia."

Blaze's eye suddenly lit up with recognition. "Sarabeth," she breathed.

In a flash, Snivels found himself trapped in Sarabeth's coils. "The Dark Matter will enjoy feeding off of your life force," she said with a hiss. "After you tell us where your master is hiding."

"He's not just my trainer," Snivels strained, "He's my friend!" Then he recoiled at the sight of Alvin leaning in to look at him.

"You're the Dragon Conqueror's partner?" asked the Outcast chief.

Behind him, Savage scratched his head in bewilderment. "I always thought their Pokémon would be more...sturdy," he said.

The Outcast leader grunted and continued on. "Tell us where the Dragon Conqueror is, and none of your friends get hurt."

Snivels snorted quietly - he trusted Alvin about as far as he could throw him.

"A conqueror, come on!" laughed Snotlout. "I'll show him a _real_ conqueror..."

While Heat the Magmar watched in anticipation, the arrogant Jorgenson pulled out his old bludgeon - the same one he had found earlier that day - and snuck through the crowd toward the ledge upon which Alvin stood. The Outcast guards and their Houndoom never noticed a thing, so unnaturally stealthy was his absence.

About to strike the ugly brute down, Snotlout raised the club over his head - and then Alvin turned around idly to face him, making him stop dead in his tracks.

He did what any brave Viking would do. "For you, sir," he squeaked, getting down low and offering the bludgeon to Alvin.

Down on the beach, his Magmar facepalmed.

"Mighty nice of you, son," Alvin said, taking the bludgeon and patting Snotlout roughly on the back as he walked past. "But I'd check your trousers if I were you - I think you've soiled yourself."

That earned a chuckle from the captive Snivels.

Quietly so as not to alert the Outcasts, Astrid reached down and pulled out Alvin's old hatchet, the one that Stoick had given her. She raised the weapon, and when one of the Outcasts saw what she was doing and shouted a warning, it was too late - the blade had already left her hand and was sailing straight and true through the air.

Just before it would have smashed into Alvin's head, Eidolon's arm shot out with shocking speed and grabbed it by the handle.

"My old hatchet!" Alvin said delightedly. "I was wondering when I'd be getting this back."

The Outcast who had noticed Astrid's attempted assault slung her over his shoulder and, despite her struggles and Blaze's best efforts to stop him, walked up to the ledge and threw her onto it for Alvin to deal with. As she got up and dusted herself off, he stomped over to stare her down with amusement.

"Trying to kill Alvin the Treacherous, eh?" he asked, chuckling. "You're not as smart as you look. Now why don't you tell me who your Dragon Conqueror is?"

Astrid kept her mouth firmly shut and glared balefully at her foe, noticing behind him that Snivels's face was starting to turn purple as Sarabeth tightened her coils around him.

"You should know that I hate it when people don't cooperate," Alvin said as he tugged Astrid's hair, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Leave them alone!"

The carrying, firm, and determined voice rang out not a moment too soon, just in time to save both her and Snivels's hides. Hiccup suddenly jumped down from the cliff above and landed perfectly on his feet (well, foot and a half), standing up to stare defiantly and directly into Alvin's eyes. The whole team collectively relaxed at their leader's appearance - they knew that Hiccup never let them down before, and he certainly wasn't about to now.

"I'm the Dragon Conqueror," the young hero declared, drawing himself up straight in an attempt to look heroic.

Unsurprisingly, Alvin burst out laughing. " _You_?! Stoick's little embarrassment?"

Yes, Hiccup's past reputation as 'the worst Viking Berk has ever seen' wasn't exactly a secret amongst those of the archipelago. His father was one of, if not the absolute, best and most well-known of Chiefs, and thus he got around quite a lot, enough for it to be known that his son...hadn't been what he had been expecting.

Sarabeth's grip on Snivels loosened ever so slightly as she examined the boy. "Your will is strong," she said, "But your flesh is weak."

"You'd be surprised," Snivels said after sucking in a well-needed breath of air.

"I drove the dragons from Berk," Hiccup said, trying to maintain the confidence he'd had in this plan. "Look around. Do you see any here?"

Alvin abruptly stopped laughing and looked around at the peaceful beach. Indeed, there was no apparent sing that any dragons or Dragon-type Pokémon had ever come there.

"It's true," Astrid chimed in right at that moment. "He even conquered a Night Fury!"

At the mention of the most mysterious of dragons, Alvin turned his thoughtful gaze to Hiccup. Finally, he accused, "You're bluffing."

"Am I?" challenged Hiccup. "There's only one way to prove it, isn't there? Take me to the dragons' nest."

The Outcast leader relented. "Fine." Then, to Sarabeth, he asked, "You coming?"

"You're the one who was so desperate to find him," she said, tightening her coils around her nephew. "You do with him what you want, but I have other business to attend to. In case you've forgotten, we don't work with Vikings."

"We?" Hiccup and Snivels both repeated in confusion. Sarabeth's intense glare silenced them both.

Alvin grabbed Hiccup by the arm and led him towards the Outcasts' boats. The team leader looked over his shoulder at his friends, giving them a significant look he hoped translated to "Follow us and get the dragons, then we can drive them all away."

That task was easier said than done, as Sarabeth had made it clear she wasn't going to let go of Snivels just like that. "You really think that you can stop us?" she rhetorically asked. "No one can escape the Shadows."

A loud thump brought her attention to three big figures that had just arrived - a Zekrom, a Reshiram, and a Rayquaza that had a Hawlucha riding on his back.

"If I were you," said a smiling Kickin' Hawk, "I'd rethink the current situation."

Knowing she had no chance of defeating three Legendary Pokémon, Sarabeth reluctantly released Snivels from her coils. "This isn't over," she hissed before the shadowy aura enveloped her completely. Snivels reached out to his aunt, only for her to suddenly vanish.

Astrid stood stunned for a long moment. "Okay, I give up. Who was that?"

"A Shadow Pokémon," Quasar replied, lowering himself so Kickin' Hawk could dismount him safely. "Unwilling servants of the Dark Matter, an entity that influences, and feeds off of, negative emotions."

Snivels jumped right in after he regained enough oxygen. "My aunt Sarabeth was born an animus, a Pokémon with rare magic properties that can be genetically passed on. She used to visit us all the time, she treated me and my brothers and sisters like we were her own children. Then she started acting weird. I remember seeing her with that dark aura and those angry, red eyes before my father banished her from the island. It was the only way he knew how to keep us safe from what she was becoming."

"Shadow Pokémon are very difficult to beat," Kickin' Hawk said. "We're lucky Sarabeth is the only one in the archipelago, so far."

Blaze gave the Hawlucha a worried look. "But that means there's still more out there, right?"

"We can't say for sure," Moribus began.

"But the world is a lot bigger than any of you might think," Veritas continued for him. "For all we know, there could be."

Kickin' Hawk raised a hand. "Let's back it up a little," he said, turning to look at the remaining members of Team Go-Getters whilst pointing to each of the three Legendary Pokémon. "These guys are Quasar, Moribus and Veritas. They're from the Resistance."

The Rayquaza, Zekrom, and Reshiram all bowed their heads as the Hawlucha said their respective names.

Quasar leaned his head down so he was eye level with Astrid. "Any chance you may have heard of the Four Trainers Prophecy?" he asked.

"Prophecy?" she repeated. "I thought that stuff was all legend."

"We're supposed to be legend, too," Quasar countered. "And Ms. Hofferson, we're as real as it gets."

Astrid opened her mouth to retort, but quickly realized she didn't have a counter for that. "Fair point."

Quasar took this as their opportunity to explain. "Back when the Viking-Dragon War began, a Kyurem named Fjord had a vision of four trainers and their Pokémon partners defeating an entity known as Dark Matter, among other things. Such a power is very rare for his species, he was surprised he even had that kind of ability. Based on his visions, he created a prophecy to try and restore hope to all who were being affected by the war."

"I can recite the prophecy," Snivels offered. "It's one of the things my parents taught me outside regular lessons. I know all of the words by heart."

Kickin' Hawk stared at the Servine in surprise for a long moment before he finally uttered, "Well, then, by all means, proceed."

Flashing the Hawlucha a grateful smile, Snivels stepped down off of the rock Alvin and Sarabeth had been standing on just minutes ago, and started reciting in a bold, clear voice.

" _Turn your eyes, your mind, your heart_  
 _To all Arceus can see_  
 _Where shadows are spreading, where heroes are falling_  
 _And no one can ever be free_

 _The Fire of Three burns bright_  
 _The Grass of Five never backs from a fight_  
 _The Water of Six moves fast out of sight_  
 _The Sun in the day, the Moon at night_

 _Open your eyes, your mind, your heart_  
 _To all the creatures that thrive_  
 _Face the darkness united as one_  
 _Or the light will never survive_ "

Moribus whistled, "Impressive."

"Very," added Veritas.

"As important as all that sounds," Astrid said, "We have to get to the dragons' nest."

Quasar smiled at the young trainer. "Not a problem." He then lowered his whole body to the ground so that they could climb on his back.

Blaze hesitated for a moment, then laid a hand on Kickin' Hawk's shoulder. "Listen," she said, "In case this whole things ends up going wrong, there's something I need to tell you."

"It'll have to wait," said Kickin' Hawk, brushing her hand off. "We have more pressing matters to attend to." He turned to mount the Rayquaza.

"But," Blaze started, then finished in a determined voice, "I like you!"

Kickin' Hawk turned to face her, and gave her a small smile. "I like you, too, Blaze."

Aware that he misunderstood her, Blaze quickly explained, "No, I mean, I _like-you_ like you!"

Kickin' Hawk's eyes went about as wide as dinner plates. "Oh. I mean, wow. I...I...I've always felt..."

"I hate to interrupt," said a smiling Quasar. "But we really need to get going."

Kickin' Hawk sighed, partly in relief and partly in frustration. "Let's go." He helped Blaze up onto Quasar's back before climbing on himself.

After making sure that every member of the team was sitting securely on their backs, Quasar took off in the direction of Dragon Island, with Moribus and Veritas following close behind.

* * *

Contrary to what everyone might believe, Hiccup had a plan that he had actually thought, if not completely, then at least mostly, through. So far, it was going well, as Alvin had agreed to take Hiccup to Dragon Island in order to prove that he was the "Dragon Conqueror" that he was looking for. All of the Outcasts previously guarding Berk's population had come as well, just in case. They were standing on either side of their ships, armed with crossbows, doing their duty and watching for any threats.

By now, Hiccup didn't care if the Outcasts knew that those of Berk rode dragons instead of fighting them. All that mattered was that he and Toothless would be able to fly together again. And when the Outcasts realized that they and the dragons had become allies, maybe they would leave Berk alone for good in fear of their new and formidable enemies.

As they sailed through the mists that surrounded the area near Dragon Island, Hiccup remained amazingly calm as he stood between two burly Outcasts and two mean-looking Houndoom that had been stationed as guards - again, just in case.

"I'm sure Stoick's told you plenty about your island's most feared enemy," Alvin was saying now, puffing out his chest none too subtly.

"And who was that again?" Hiccup replied evenly. "Oh yeah, you. Nope, not so much."

Alvin was shocked. "Really? Not a word?"

"Nope," said Hiccup, smugly.

"Nothing?" Alvin asked again.

"Nothing about you," affirmed Hiccup. He said this in a bored voice that made Alvin visibly angry, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth slightly.

Hiccup then said seriously, "Look, Alvin, all I care about is that I do what you want, and then you leave the inhabitants of Berk in peace."

The barbarian only laughed heartily. "On my word, boy!" he assured him with a grin.

Hiccup doubted his word very, very much.

Finally, the mists cleared just enough so that the dormant volcano that dominated Dragon Island came into view, towering over the rock-covered shores. A few of the Outcasts gulped audibly and stiffened with fear. Even Alvin and Eidolon looked a little nervous as they looked upon the great, towering mountain that ominously scraped the sky.

"Say, Hiccup," he said, with an undercurrent of fear in his voice that he tried his best to hide. "Isn't this where it's rumored that a humungous dragon slumbers beneath the dragons' nest?"

"Yep," Hiccup confirmed, "This is the place. I even saw the dragon with my own eyes, and barely lived to tell the tale."

He didn't mention, however, that he had actually ended the malevolent queen's own life - that would have been pushing it a little, stretching his tale a bit too much for Alvin to deem it believable. Even if it was the absolute truth.

The ship ran aground all of a sudden, and as the Outcasts climbed over the side with their crossbows and Houndoom at the ready, Eidolon helpfully hoisted Hiccup onto the rocky coast. Everyone except for the one-legged hero was looking around nervously, trying to determine whether the constant gurgling and warbling of a thousand hiding dragons ad Dragon-type Pokémon were coming from.

The sound, however, was coming from everywhere. It was just like the first time he had visited Dragon Island, back before he and his friends had faced the Red Death.

The remains of the once-feared dragon queen of the nest lay farther up the slope in front of them. Alvin's eyes went wide at the sight of the Red Death's bones, and even Hiccup was a little amazed - after all, he had never seen her skeleton, as he had been rendered unconscious even as she died in a blaze of unimaginable proportions.

The feeling of a hard, sharp object poking him in the back dispelled the painful memories. Hiccup looked over his shoulder to see Alvin holding a rather large sword at the ready.

"Is the sword really necessary?" Hiccup asked, annoyed.

But then, he heard the Outcasts begin to mutter and hold their weapons a little higher. The Houndoom collectively jumped back in surprise, and Hiccup averted his eyes to where they were looking.

His heart leapt. Slinking out from behind some rocks, claws scraping against the pebbles, was Toothless. His midnight-black wings were spread wide, and his eyes were shaped in a striking glare.

"Odin's ghost!" exclaimed Alvin. "Is that a...?"

"Night Fury," Hiccup informed him confidently. "The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself."

A snarl emitted from Toothless's jaws, and he spread his wings with a mighty roar. Two soldiers, as well as Savage, raised their crossbows.

"Stop!" Hiccup exclaimed, a little too desperately. Thinking quickly, he added "It will only make him angrier." Hopefully that would be convincing enough to cover up his slip - unlike when he tried to stop his father from using Toothless as a guide to the dragons' nest. "Watch and learn," he said smugly, already beginning to walk towards the dragon.

"By all means, proceed," Alvin said, encouragingly then snickered to himself. "Good thing I'm not squeamish..."

Hiccup tried to ignore him and stalked fearlessly towards Toothless. With an excited roar, the black dragon pounced on Hiccup and started licking his face, not caring that the Outcasts were watching them.

"Yeah, I'm happy to see you, too, bud," Hiccup said quietly.

The Outcasts stared in confusion. "Maybe they taste their prey before they eat it," Alvin muttered.

Hiccup gently pushed Toothless's muzzle away from his face. "We can catch up later, Toothless," Hiccup whispered, "But for now, just play along."

Toothless seemed confused, but he backed up and allowed his friend to stand. Hiccup started to make his way to the rocks, holding up his arms in mock defense while Toothless reared up and flapped his wings convincingly.

"You can't defeat me, you dirty lizard!" proclaimed Hiccup loudly. The Outcasts were muttering and gasping in awe as Hiccup pretended to back Toothless into a corner.

Hiccup gradually got closer to the rock under which he had stashed the saddle and stirrup for Toothless. When he reached it, Toothless spread his wings to cover Hiccup as he pulled out their riding gear and started to put it on.

"What're you doing with that dragon?" Alvin asked, trying to see past the Night Fury's wings.

As quickly as he could, Hiccup finished equipping their gear and climbed onto his usual position aboard the saddle. He felt a sudden surge of courage as Toothless turned so they were both facing the Outcasts.

"By the way," he informed them. "I'm not the Dragon Conqueror. I'm the Dragon Trainer!" He clicked the stirrup, and Toothless shot up into the air.

"Great thunder of Thor!" exclaimed Alvin. "He _is_ the Dragon Conqueror! Outcasts, fire them catapults!"

With speed that did not match their bulky bodies, the Outcasts practically jumped onto their ship and fired their catapults at the circling Hiccup and Toothless. But while they were good shots, they had the Night Fury's speed sorely underestimated.

Weaving around each boulder with ease, Toothless turned swiftly in the air and shot blasts of blue fire, decimating the catapults.

However, Savage had already taken aim with his crossbow and fired three arrows at them, which whistled loudly toward Hiccup as he only just started to steer Toothless away...

...and then a searing bolt of blinding light and heat shot directly in front of them, disintegrating the arrows just before they would have embedded themselves in Hiccup's body. The Dragon Trainer turned around to look in the direction of the fire blast, and found himself staring at the smug grin of none other than Stormfly. the rest of Team Go-Getters, and the Viking teens, on their dragons.

"What took you all so long?" called Hiccup, a grin forming on his face as he saw his friends, and the Viking teens, rise up from the island to join him in the usual formation.

"Why, did you miss us?" asked Astrid cheekily, from her position on Stormfly's back.

Quasar swiftly appeared beside Toothless, and a certain Servine leaped from the Rayquaza's back and landed perfectly behind his trainer in the Night Fury's saddle. "Ready when you are," said Snivels.

They all dove as one, down toward the enemy ship. It was only then did Hiccup see that there was another ship engaging the Outcasts, one that was carrying Stoick, Brumous, Gobber and Norward into battle.

"Aim for their catapults!" roared the Berkian Chief. "Then we'll let the dragons finish them off!"

On Stoick's command, their own catapults fired on the Outcast ship and flattened several of the soldiers and Houndoom. Two enemy catapults are also crushed under the storm of boulders, while holes were punched into the deck.

"Shoot them dragons down!" Alvin shouted, ignoring Stoick for the time being. He ran to the last catapult and, without really taking aim, pushed down on the lever. He had intended to aim at Hiccup and Toothless, but in his haste, he fired in the wrong direction.

Astrid caught sight of the incoming boulder, and so did Stormfly. The Nadder panicked and went into a roll, but Astrid couldn't hold on tightly enough. While the boulder missed by a fraction of an inch and Stormfly soared off unscathed, Astrid plummeted onto the deck of Alvin's ship. In an instant, Eidolon appeared behind her and grabbed her firmly.

"Hold your fire!" Hiccup shouted, "They have her!"

Not listening, Snotlout launched an attack with his dragon, and Hookfang fired a blast of flames near the Outcasts' boat.

"What did I just tell you?" Hiccup demanded.

"I heard you say 'fire,'" protested Snotlout.

"I said _hold_ your fire!" Hiccup snapped.

"There, you said it again," the Jorgenson argued.

That earned him a near miss from Blaze's Flamethrower. "Now is not the time for you to be a smart aleck!"

Snivels suddenly tapped Hiccup's shoulder to get his attention. "I can't believe I'm about to say this," said the Servine, "But Snotlout's right. Look." He pointed at the water where Hookfang had blasted his firebreath. A fine layer of steam was forming just above the surface.

Hiccup caught onto his partner's plan immediately. "Everyone, fire at the water!"

At his command, all the riders' dragons strafed the area around the water-borne vessel with their fire, beginning to envelop it in steam. Blaze, Amber and Veritas also contributed with Flamethrower and Fusion Flare, adding even more steam to the mix. In minutes, the Outcasts' boat was surrounded by steam so thick you could cut it with a knife.

From there, everything happened all at once. While the confused soldiers fired their crossbows randomly and at nothing, the Berkian ship plowed into their hull with metallic blade fixed on the prow. Eidolon was the only one who didn't stumble, being a floating ghost Pokémon, but a powerful blast of purple energy that hit him square in the back made him inadvertently release his hold on Astrid. Alvin tried to grab her, but was met with a rough Slam attack in the gut from none other than Ryu the Shiny Dratini. The Outcast leader recovered in time to see the little Dragon-type disappear under the ocean waves.

Hiccup and Toothless immediately plunged from the obscuring cloud, with Snivels hanging onto his trainer's riding vest to avoid falling off. Climbing up the stern, Astrid jumped onto the saddle, between trainer and Pokémon, and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. They vanished into the steam immediately after that.

"They're clear!" informed Quasar.

That was all the group was waiting on. Bursts of fire, blasts of electricity, and storms of leaves and water rained down upon the doomed boat. While Gobber and Stoick had to frantically row their boat out of range of what was to them an unwarned attack, Moribus enveloped himself in a sphere of violet electricity while Veritas fired a large sphere of flames with two rings surrounding it from her mouth. The Reshiram's Fusion Flare engulfed the Zekrom's Fusion Bolt, the two attacks colliding with the ship.

The ship instantaneously exploded in a conflagration that sent shockwaves rippling through the air and water. The only thing more shocking than the explosion itself was how many of the Outcasts, Alvin included, had managed to survive the attack.

The trip back to Berk started remarkably quiet. After all, the island was safe and the dragons were back where they truly belonged. But there were still a few loose ends that needed to be tied up before Quasar, Moribus and Veritas could take their leave.

Snivels, being the ever-helpful friend he was, was more than happy to assist the three Legendaries in explaining everything to Hiccup the whole way there.

Back on the beaches of Dragon Island, however, Alvin and Savage were wading toward shore and chuckling to themselves. "They ride dragons!" exclaimed the latter, extremely impressed.

"And if we get that boy," added Alvin, "Then _we'll_ ride dragons!"

An odd sound prompted the Outcasts to turn around. Eidolon was rapidly descending on the island, covered in scrapes and burns from the battle. The Dusknoir slumped on the rocks in a tired manner, close to fainting.

"But first," Alvin decided, "We gotta get our men fixed up."

* * *

The sun was rising, and the skies were filled with dragons returning from their banishment to live on Berk once more.

The residents let out a collective, cheering roar as an entire flock of hundreds of flying dragons and their Dragon-type partners passed over them, for the first time in what seemed like forever. Although they hadn't realized it at first, but the dragon horde had become something like family to them in the weeks since the war's end - and only now did they see how much they were glad to have the creatures back.

"You hear that, bud?" asked Hiccup, bending over to look at Toothless as they led the flying dragons onward. "We're home."

The Night Fury let out a contented croon, indeed glad to be back on Berk.

But amidst the cheers, there was still that persistent pocket of malice and general grumpiness. Naturally, said pocked was where Mildew himself stood, staring at the dragons and Dragon-types overhead with an appalled look on his face.

"What're you all cheering about?" he demanded of the other Vikings. "Don't you remember what these beasts have done?!"

"I remember," Snivels growled as the team landed nearby. "That you almost killed me framing Toothless for the armory explosion!"

That stunned every creature within hearing distance into silence. Sure, Mildew was the type to do just about anything to get his way, but hardly anyone in the archipelago possessed the guts to risk harming, or even killing, a Pokémon in the act.

Stoick approached the group with his head held low - not a natural look for a high and mighty chief. "I owe you all an apology," he said in a tone Hiccup couldn't quite place. "You were right. Innocent until proven guilty, I shouldn't have forgotten that. As for you," he added, handing Mildew a large shovel, "There's work to be done."

The shovel could have only meant one thing - cleaning the yak stables. Nowhere near fitting the old man's actions, for putting a Pokémon in deliberate danger was a very high offense, but it was the only punishment Stoick had deemed suitable on such short notice. Mildew looked at the shovel with disgust for a really long time, before slumping in defeat and hobbling away, grumbling incomprehensible words of obscenity under his breath.

"If you kids are interested," said Quasar suddenly, "There's some living quarters on the far side of the island we had set up for any Resistance agents assigned to the area. You're more than welcome to live there, it's got plenty of room for creatures of all shapes and sizes, a large cabin where you'll have beds and an outhouse."

All eyes looked at Hiccup expectantly. He hadn't said anything at all during the flight back to Berk, nor was he speaking now.

Finally, he stuttered out, "I-I'm sorry, okay? I'm just...having a really hard time processing all of this right now."

"I did, too, the first time," admitted Kickin' Hawk. "It may take a while, but you'll get used to it."

That particular choice of words got Snivels and Blaze snickering. They quickly stopped when they realized their trainers were giving them matching looks of annoyance. It didn't take a genius to figure out exactly what the Servine and Blaziken were thinking of.

Nevertheless, the whole group took off on their dragons, with Quasar, Moribus and Veritas in the lead. The village of Berk was soon behind them, and the entire group found themselves flying over the vast forest that made up the majority of the island.

The living quarters that the Resistance had arranged was actually quite well thought-out in its construction. It was an extremely simple building, but one that was built well enough to house the entire group comfortably while leaving room for so many more. The entire second floor was one large barrack, leaving the ground floor with all the other requirements - kitchen complete with a cooking fire, a table for eating at, a makeshift living area in front of the fire, a small room for bathing and an outhouse situated outside.

"You guys are really just letting us live here?" asked Hiccup. "Won't you need it for something more important?"

"Nothing is more important than making sure you kids are safe," was Quasar's reply. "We'll be keeping an eye out in case you ever need any assistance."

And just like that, the Rayquaza, Zekrom and Reshiram took their leave, flying off to who knows where faster than anyone could imagine.

The group landed as one, dismounting their dragons to get a proper look at their new home.

"Nice craftsmanship," Snivels commented in awe. "Shouldn't expect anything less from Legendary Pokémon, I suppose."

A little pink, serpentine dragon squiggled out of the saddlebag hanging from Stormfly's side and wrapped herself around the Servine's tail. Snivels gave Ryu a grateful smile. "You've been a really big help," he said.

"You're sure she doesn't have anywhere else to go?" asked Amber.

Snivels shrugged. "If she did, she probably wouldn't have come back with us." Then he added, "That's what she said when I asked her on the way here."

Now there was only one loose end left to be tied up. Blaze stood admiring the living quarters when she suddenly felt the presence of another. She looked to her left to find a Hawlucha standing on top of Wavern, around the area where her shoulders met the neck, so he could look her in the eye.

"Kickin' Hawk?" she asked, turning to face him fully. "What are you doing?"

The Hawlucha smiled warmly at her, cupping her cheek gently with one hand. "This," was all he said before he kissed her.

Blaze had expected there to be sparks, like she always thought a first kiss would have. But there were no sparks - only warmth. Most likely, it was her natural fire reserve burning with flames spontaneously ignited with newfound passion, but at that moment she didn't care. She'd boldly told him earlier that she liked him as more than just a friend, and this was his answer for her. And honestly, she couldn't have phrased it better herself.

When they finally separate, Astrid sees how they look at one another. She watches as her partner playfully pushes her new potential mate off of the Noivern he was standing on, and they both laugh until their sides hurt. The feisty Blaziken looked the happiest she'd ever been.

 _Yeah,_ Astrid decides, _I approve._

* * *

 _It's funny how an attack by your greatest enemy can change things overnight._

 _We set out to prove that our dragons would never hurt us. What we learned is that there are so many other creatures out there who will protect us, with their very lives_ _._

* * *

 **I'm SO sorry that it took so long for me to update! But things have been busy with school and everything. Please leave me a review, and I'll try to update this story, and the others, as soon as I possibly can.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: How to Pick Your Dragon

 **The title says it all. And I'm running out of good intros.**

* * *

 _Here on Berk, when we were Vikings, we always did things the one way - the Viking way. Since dragons came, the Viking way has become, well...the hard way._

 _Unfortunately, most people, like my father, still refuse to change._

* * *

Hiccup, Toothless, and Snivels stood together on a dock with unreadable expressions on their faces as a heavily damaged ship sailed into the harbor. A team of Vikings and Pokémon, led by none other than Stoick and Brumous, was pulling it in to be lashed to the dock and eventually repaired. Decorative shields were missing from the sides, the figurehead had been chopped off, and the hull was impressively chewed up. Shards of wood, scraps of fabric, and half-eaten fish littered the deck - it was clear that something had attacked it, and it didn't take a genius to figure out just what it was.

"It's that rogue dragon again," Gobber muttered. "That's the second boat this week he's destroyed."

Stoick replied in frustration as he and his Beartic finished pulling the boat into the harbor, "And we've lost yet another catch. We might have been able to save it if we had gotten there sooner."

"I'm not normally the kind to go around pointing fingers," said the Servine that had been standing idly by with his one-legged trainer and their Night Fury friend. "But this whole situation could have been solved weeks ago if _someone_ stopped being so unbearably stubborn and got on the back of a dragon for a change." Then he chuckled mirthlessly. "I'd say it's a shame that Vikings hardly ever follow through with change, but we all know how I feel about lying, be it me or someone else."

Throwing a stray piece of driftwood aside and off of the dock, Stoick replied heatedly, "As chief of Berk, I do things the _Viking_ way. _Not_ the dragon way."

"Well, the 'Viking way' is costing you a lot of fish, and almost as many boats," Hiccup replied smugly, knowing that he was right. Stoick realized this, but didn't want to admit it.

"They're right, Stoick," Gobber chimed in helpfully. "If you were on a dragon, you could protect this island from a lot of things. Even Alvin."

Stoick merely arched an eyebrow and seemed to consider it.

"Right!" Hiccup jumped in. "You...you could use a dragon to - "

"You're right, Gobber," said Stoick, interrupting without even looking in Hiccup's direction. "Alvin knows we have dragons now. He'll be back."

Gobber patted Stoick's arm and said gently, "You saw what those dragons did - they had Alvin _on the run_. Imagine if _you_ were the one commanding them."

"I'm listening," replied the chief, curiously.

"But clearly not to us..." muttered Hiccup in annoyance. He still spared a smile for Toothless, though, when the Night Fury crooned and nudged his arm.

"I can see it now," Gobber began, holding his arms in front of him as if to conjure up and imaginary picture before him. "A proud chief, ruling his domain aboard a fearsome, fire-breathing reptile. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it."

Brumous growled, but for what reason no one knew for sure. Any noise that the Beartic made could mean any number of things.

Only now did Stoick turn to face his son. "Gobber's right about that.I need to learn to fly. When do we start lessons?"

Rolling his eyes, the Go-Getter leader replied in a voice heavy with sarcasm, "I don't know. Shouldn't we ask Gobber?"

"I don't really have a preference," the blacksmith replied. "But sooner is always better, don't you think?"

Hiccup and Snivels simultaneously facepalmed as Stoick nodded in agreement.

* * *

Hiccup and Stoick were standing on the nearest cliff to the academy, almost right in front of its gates. The salty breeze of the sea gently wafted past, accompanied by the distant crash of waves against the beach nearby. Hiccup was beside Toothless, who was facing Stoick, while Snivels and Brumous stood on the sidelines curiously.

"Alright, I made a new stirrup so you'll be able to control Toothless," explained Hiccup as he finished the saddle adjustments.

"You hear that," Stoick said to the Night Fury. "It's _me_ that's going to be controlling _you_."

Toothless's only response was a soft growl and an annoyed twitch of his tail.

"Dad," Hiccup said hesitantly, before the dragon's temper deteriorated. "Before you get on a dragon, you have to show him that he can trust you."

Arrogantly, Stoick put his hands on his hips and glared down at his son and temporary dragon. "He already trusts me. I'm his chief!"

"The only way you'd ever be the chief of a dragon is if you were a dragon yourself," Snivels said with a laugh. "And frankly, that would be quite the improvement."

That remark earned him matching glares from the chief and his Beartic.

"It's very simple," said Hiccup wearily, "Just give me your hand."

Equally wearily, Stoick sighed, I didn't come here to hold hands, Hiccup."

Ignoring that, Hiccup took his hand and brought it up in front of Toothless's snout. Toothless hesitated before he sighed and pushed his head against Stoick's hand.

"You feel that?" asked Hiccup, looking up at his father.

"Yep, still dry and scaly," he muttered, drawing his hand back and rubbing his fingers.

"That's not what I meant," Hiccup said flatly.

Snivels didn't say anything, but gave his trainer a sharp look that said, _So, do you still think this is going to work out?_

"Can I get on him now?" Stoick asked impatiently, to which Hiccup gave in and nodded.

When the much larger man hopped up into the saddle , Toothless abruptly collapsed with a comical grunt, yielding under Stoick's weight. With a determined grunt, the Night Fury pushed himself back up, digging his talons into the ground for support.

Quickly, Hiccup climbed into the saddle behind Stoick and advised, "We'll start off nice and slow. Just give him a little nudge when you want him to - "

Not waiting to hear the rest, Stoick kicked Toothless's side with his heels, prompting the Night Fury to shoot off like a boulder from a catapult. Even from far away, Snivels could still hear the startled scream of his trainer.

"I said 'nudge'!" Hiccup yelled over the wind.

"That _was_ my nudge!" Stoick argued.

Their flight leveled out eventually, and once things were calm, Hiccup was able to give his father more advice. "Just remember, the tail controls everything."

As Toothless picked up speed, Stoick snorted, "I know that."

What he _didn't_ know, exactly, was how to steer the dragon properly. Of course, he'd never admit it out loud.

"Then why are you heading for that rock?" retorted Hiccup, pointing to a sea stack that suddenly loomed in their path.

"Because you're distracting me!" Stoick yelled back.

"Just let out the - "

"Tail! I know!"

Stoick fiddled with the stirrup until the tail fanned out. They rose upwards into the air just before they would have hit the hard stone. Clearing the top of the spire, they dove downwards again, right into the path of another one.

"Left!" cried a panicking Hiccup.

Stoick then pulled on Toothless's neck and sent him into a dizzying spin, in the wrong direction. Hiccup winced as they inevitably crashed into the spire.

"The other left!" Hiccup shouted again.

"Dragon's fault," replied Stoick, dismissively. He then steered their mount away from another rock, glancing off of it instead of ramming it head-on.

"Are you going to blame that one on the dragon, too, Dad?" asked Hiccup, sarcastically.

"Yep," replied an irritated Stoick.

All of a sudden, Toothless went into a dive, and they began rapidly approaching the ocean waves below.

"Slow down!" Hiccup shrieked.

"I'm trying!" bellowed Stoick.

Once more, the chief pressed down on the stirrup, and they leveled out at the very last minute, sending up a spray of seawater that they had barely missed crashing into.

"See?" Stoick asked, shooting Hiccup a smug look.

"No, actually, I had my eyes closed," Hiccup replied dryly.

No long after, Hiccup began to wish that his eyes were still closed. Too fast, Stoick steered Toothless in for a landing on Secluded Beach. At the rate they were flying, they would end up going into a crash.

"You're coming in too hard, Dad!" yelled Hiccup. "Open the tail!"

"I _am_ opening the tail!"

"That's my _leg_ , Dad!"

Either way, it was already too late. Stoick and Hiccup were flung off of Toothless's back as the Night Fury crashed to the ground. The dragon flipped over and slid on his back before grinding to a painful stop. After about a minute, Toothless painfully got to his feet and walked over to his one true rider.

"I'm so sorry about this," Hiccup apologized, a little sheepishly. _That could have gone better. At least no one was around to see it..._

Stoick stepped over the rim of the depression in the sand from their crash, adjusting his helmet with a stormy expression on his face. Brushing sand and dirt off of his shoulder pads, he began to walk up the beach and toward the cliffs leading back to the island.

"Dad, wait, where are you going?" Hiccup called after him.

"Home," he grunted over his shoulder. "I'm done with this, Hiccup. I have a village to take care of." He stopped at the foot of the cliffs and looked up. The wall of rocks was much too steep for a man of his size and stature to climb safely. Sighing, the chief turned back to Hiccup and said bluntly, "I'll need a ride home."

Toothless groaned and collapsed onto the ground.

* * *

Moments later, father and son were back in the sky on the back of a Night Fury. Only this time, Hiccup was the one in the front of the saddle. After what had just happened, there was no way Toothless was going to let the Viking chief fly them home. Not even for all of the juicy and delicious salmon in the world.

"This isn't the way home, Hiccup!" Stoick yelled as they passed right over Berk.

"Just sit back and enjoy the ride," Hiccup replied calmly, directing the dragon higher into the sky and in the direction of the farming lands. "We're taking the scenic route."

"Right now, my lunch is taking the 'scenic route' from my stomach to my throat!" retorted the chief.

 _I did NOT need to know that,_ thought Hiccup. Then, setting aside his disgust, he continued, "Just think about how much easier your chiefing can be on the back of a dragon."

Scowling, Stoick replied, "I'd much rather stay on the - hang on," he interrupted himself, staring down at the fields below. "What's going on over there?"

Indeed, as the Night Fury swooped lower to observe the farm at a closer distance, his rider and extra passenger saw that almost all of the yaks in one field had been tipped over onto their sides, mooing and groaning loudly. The trio caught a brief glimpse of glinting metal helmets and dirty blonde hair ducking down behind a stack of barrels.

"Great," muttered Stoick. "The Thorston twins have been yak-tipping again, haven't they?"

How two lanky, half-brained teenagers could possibly gather up enough strength to tip over a full-grown yak, the world would never know.

Obligingly, Toothless spat out a blast of blue fire at the barrels, shattering them to splinters. Amazingly, the twins didn't even notice that their hiding place had just been blown to smithereens.

Sarin and Ricin noticed, however, and decided it would be best to hightail it out of there. The whole thing had been their trainers' idea, anyway.

"I WANT EVERY YAK BACK ON ITS FEET IMMEDIATELY!" Stoick roared from overhead, startling the twins so much that they fell over.

Knowing that the jig was up, Ruffnut and Tuffnut snapped to attention and gave identical, smart salutes to the chief, who was already flying away.

"Was Stoick on a dragon?" snickered Tuffnut.

"Oh, so I didn't imagine it," replied his equally dim-witted sister.

Toothless was already leaving the farming lands and climbing even higher into the air. Hiccup, in particular, was satisfied with what they had done. "Alright, let's see what else we can get done today!" he suggested, urging Toothless onward.

They were rapidly coming toward Mildew's cabbage field, which, on this cloudy day, loomed slightly ominously out of the greyness. The Night Fury left the clouds behind and flew onwards, toward the cranky old man's field, which was being ravaged by wild boars. Neither Mildew nor Eldritch could do a thing as the pigs mercilessly tore up the foul vegetables.

As tempting as it was to leave the old hermit in his misery, Hiccup couldn't do that with his father sitting right behind him in the saddle. A Berkian chief always assisted a fellow Berkian in trouble, no matter how dreadful and antagonistic they were.

"How did those boars ever get to this altitude?" wondered Stoick.

"Never mind that," said Hiccup with a lot of reluctance. "Let's give Mildew and Eldritch a hand."

With that, Toothless dove down like a black lightning bolt toward the sounder of boars, opening his jaws wide and firing a multitude of rapid-fire plasma blasts over the fertile soil. The fire balls burst upon impact, scattering the boars into running off the nearest cliff.

Hiccup grinned at their second success in a row, leading his father and friend away and ignoring Mildew's demanding shouts.

"Fire again, dragon!" exclaimed Stoick eagerly.

"Dad, the boars are gone," Hiccup objected in confusion. _Unless you want us to torch Mildew as well..._

"Who cares?" the Viking laughed. "I like the sound it makes."

Toothless's face fell.

Finally, they flew their highest yet into the clouds. Neither of them could see a thing as they flew in twists and turns through the fog-like vapor - but when they at last emerged, it was to view and incredible sight. The sun had found a gap in the clouds to shine through, and the wide beam of light shone down upon the village of Berk, so small and innocent-looking from their high vantage point.

 _Too bad it's not Astrid in the saddle with me. This view would blow her away for sure._

"You know," Stoick murmured, "I've been all over Berk. I've traversed its forests, climbed its cliffs, swam its waters, explored every inch of it - but I never thought I'd ever see it like this."

 _Neither did Astrid. Now that I think about it, when's the last time we've ever done anything together as a couple?_

Toothless caught the look in his rider's eye and let out a growling laugh, knowing full well what his best friend was thinking about.

* * *

There weren't any events of importance happening that day, or lessons at the Berk Dragon Academy to get done, se Hiccup decided to sleep in. It was late morning when he finally awoke, sitting up in bed with a tired yawn and glancing sleepily around the room.

Honestly, it was still hard for him to believe that he was no longer living with his father, especially at his particular age. But that didn't mean that it wasn't refreshing to wake up each morning to see all of his closest friends gathered together in one place.

Except for one.

On the slab of rock where Toothless usually slept, there was nothing but empty space.

"Toothless?" called Hiccup uncertainly, hopping out of bed. He stopped only to avoid stepping on a slumbering Snivels, then walked down the stairs. He called again, "Toothless!"

But it was to no avail. He got no reply.

Rushing back up the stairs, Hiccup quickly found and crouched down next to Snivels, who was huddled in the corner with Lockheed. The one-legged trainer gently shook the Servine awake, being careful not to jostle the baby Speed Stinger too much. The last time he'd waken up the dragonet, he'd lost the ability to move his arm for over four hours, and he did not want a repeat of that accident.

Snivels blinked his eyes sleepily. "What time is it?"

"Doesn't matter," Hiccup said quickly, "Toothless is missing, and I need your help finding him."

Just like that, the Servine was wide awake. "Missing?" he repeated. "We should wake the others, he could be anywhere on the island."

That's how the whole team ended up forming a search party, looking every place they could think of to find their Night Fury friend. Just when they were about to give up, Hiccup spotted a black shape streak across the sky, making a beeline for the village plaza. It glanced off the roof of a house, then clumsily flapped its wings as it tried to right itself - only to crash into the ground in a half-decent attempt at landing.

It was none other than Toothless that got up and shook out his wings before folding them in again, and the Viking that jumped off of the Night Fury was Stoick. No wonder the dragon had been flying so clumsily.

"Dad, what are you doing?" asked Hiccup, running to meet him.

"Kicking butt and taking names, that's what!" the chief answered cheerfully.

"On Toothless?" Hiccup asked again.

"We've been all over the island!" exclaimed Stoick, giving the Night Fury an affectionate - but was really more rough - pat on the muzzle. "Chiefing has never been so easy! Just came to grab my hatchet. We're helping the Jorgensons clear out a fence."

He walked past Hiccup and toward his house. Toothless used the opportunity to stretch out his back and wings, his spine cracked audibly as he flexed. Hiccup heard, it was easy for him to tell that being Stoick's mount wasn't the best thing for neither him nor the Night Fury.

"Dad!" he called half-heartedly after his father. "You need to understand that Toothless - "

"You're right!" Stoick interjected, brightening. "I don't need a hatchet! Toothless can blow down that fence with his fire."

He walked back over to Toothless and jumped on. The Night Fury flexed his wings one more time before running down the hill. When he had gathered enough speed, he flapped his wings and lurched awkwardly into the air, rapidly climbing higher as he headed for Snotlout's house.

"...Is a part of our team." Hiccup finished sadly, knowing full well that Stoick could no longer hear him.

* * *

Later that evening, Hiccup, Astrid, Snivels, and Blaze were waiting for Toothless on the steps of the Great Hall. Eventually, they saw Stoick land in front of his house, not very far from where they were standing. "Same time tomorrow, Toothless!" he said in farewell, patting the Night Fury's wing before vanishing into his home.

As soon as he was gone, Toothless collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"That is what it looks like to be ridden all day by a four hundred pound Viking," Snivels remarked, his facial expression the very epitome of pity.

"At least you guys figured out how to get Stoick on a dragon," Astrid replied optimistically.

"Yeah, now we just need to figure out how to get him _off_ one," Hiccup sighed.

Looking thoughtful, Astrid suggested, "Why don't you try the Honey and the Hatchet?"

"The what and the what?" asked a confused Snivels.

Astrid explained, "You know, you tell him something he wants to hear - that's the honey part - before you hit him in the head with something he doesn't!" She punctuated her point with a fierce jab to Hiccup's shoulder, causing him to flinch and rub his arm painfully, before finishing, "You know, the hatchet."

"Why does your advice always involve weapons?" Hiccup questioned, only to get nothing more than a grin out of his girlfriend.

"That's pretty much the only kind of advice she can give," Blaze joked. Then she frowned. "Does anyone ever think to ask me for advice?"

It was surprising how fast her tone had transitioned from playful to melancholy.

"When's dinner?" she asked suddenly. "I'm starved! Would anyone mind bringing me some smoked trout?"

"I thought you hated smoked trout," said a perplexed Snivels.

Blaze shrugged. "The stomach wants what the stomach wants." She started off for the team's living quarters, keeping a hand on her abdomen as she descended the stairs.

"Alright, I might as well get going," Astrid remarked. "And Hiccup - if you need help, I'll be happy to lend it to you."

"That would be nice indeed, my lady," Hiccup said jokingly.

Astrid gave him another grin, this time accompanied by another punch to the shoulder. But just as she was about to head after her Blaziken, leaving her boyfriend reeling in pain, she pulled him forward and gave him a swift kiss before running off down the steps.

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" asked an exceptionally smug Snivels.

His question brought Hiccup back to reality, his smile fading as he remembered the kind of situation he was dealing with.

 _I need to get my dad off of Toothless,_ he said to himself. _He needs a dragon that can hold up his weight and handle the stress of being ridden every day. I don't think Toothless can take much more of this._

* * *

Waking up to the sound of Stoick calling for Toothless was definitely something that none of the members of Team Go-Getters had ever expected. Everyone in the house jumped awake, their minds all asking the same question - how did he find this place so fast?

Toothless immediately jumped up into the rafters to hide when he heard Stoick calling for him.

Snivels groaned. "If anyone needs me, I'll be hiding under the bed," he said as he trudged out of his corner and ducked underneath his trainer's bed. Seeing his two friends hiding was more than enough for Hiccup to get out of bed and head downstairs and talk to his father.

"Oh, hey, Dad," Hiccup greeted as casually as he could manage. "So...how did you find this place all the way out here?"

"Where's Toothless?" asked Stoick, completely avoiding his son's question.

Hiccup froze and glanced back upstairs to see Astrid, who gave a slight nod. "I don't know," he fibbed, "But...you look great, Dad! Wh-what did you...Did you do something with your beard?"

Stoick gave him a dry look and sighed, "Alright, you've given me the honey, now hit me with the hatchet."

Not knowing how Stoick knew what he had been doing, and without sparing a glance at Astrid, Hiccup relented. "Look, Dad, you can't just keep taking Toothless. He's mine."

While Stoick didn't look as disappointed as Hiccup imagined he would, he still didn't look happy. Nevertheless, he replied diplomatically, "Alright, that seems fair."

Hiccup quietly sighed in relief, but it didn't last for long when Stoick said something he hadn't been anticipating.

"So, find me one!"

Those words caught Hiccup off guard. For clarification, he asked, "Sorry?"

"Find me a dragon just as good as Toothless," Stoick explained in better detail. "That shouldn't be so hard for the head of the Dragon Academy."

From underneath his trainer's bed, Snivels called out, "I beg to differ."

* * *

Later that day, the entirety of Team Go-Getters had gathered at the academy with the Dragon Riders - accompanied, of course, by their dragons. All of them were ready, aware, and full of life, ready to show Stoick why they were the best of the best possible mounts a chief could select.

"The finest dragon species on the island are represented here at the academy," Hiccup declared.

"But," interjected Snotlout, loudly enough to get Stoick's attention. "The Monstrous Nightmare is the only dragon with enough brawn and prestige to suit men of our stature."

"Does he even know what he's talking about?" asked Xylia in a whisper.

"From what I have gathered," Amber whispered, "He almost never knows what he's talking about."

Snivels breathed a laugh. "Took the words right out of my mouth."

Vengeance laid down next to them, greatly agreeing.

Snotlout didn't hear a word of what they had said, he was too busy leading Stoick over to Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare respectfully stood still and patient as the chief took is time.

"Hop on board, and feel the Monstrous Nightmare difference," Snotlout invited, gesturing to the saddle wrapped securely around Hookfang's neck. When Stoick had hopped on board and gripped the dragon's horns, getting a feel for the riding position, Snotlout prattled on, "And on those cold winter nights, its entire body heats up. Let me warm him up for you."

He flicked Hookfang's horn, and the dragon growled, glowing a bright red as his scales started heating up. Unfortunately, the flaming scales proved too much, as Stoick's pants caught fire. He quickly got off of Hookfang and jumped into the water trough that they kept in the arena to extinguish the flames.

"Now, how about I put you down for one?" Snotlout offered. "They come in an assortment of colors!"

Stoick just growled and pushed past him on the way out of the trough, demanding to see the next dragon.

In spite of his reluctance in aiding a Viking chief, Snivels took over explaining the Grapple Grounder, with Buck and Spiral serving as the visual aids. "A Grapple Grounder may not look very sturdy, but it's more than useful when you want to restrain your opponents. It's also very agile, with the snake-like body structure making it nearly impossible to land an attack on it. And don't get me started on their firepower."

Then, Stoick attempted to get on Spiral's back. Instantly, the female adolescent's legs gave out, and she crashed to the ground under his weight.

"I wouldn't recommend flying one, though," Snivels said matter-of-factly. "Especially not someone with your size and stature."

Astrid and Stormfly were next. "Just because she's beautiful, people think she's not tough," the fearless rider said confidently. "But you should never underestimate Stormfly. She's a huge exception."

"Not unlike someone else we know," Blaze muttered under her breath.

The Deadly Nadder cawed her agreement, her spines standing on alert. She stared Stoick right in the eye, blinking her striking yellow eyes and shifting her wings and claws. If anything, she was just and dangerous as she was pretty.

"She _is_ a beauty," replied Stoick, agreeing with Astrid's point.

And then he was forced to duck away from Stormfly's points, as a hail of poisonous spines came flying his way when he patted her too roughly on the snout. Although he had gotten out of the way in time, it was still a close call.

"Monstrous Nightmare's looking a little better, huh Chief?" smirked Snotlout.

Blaze rolled her eyes. "You wish."

"Next!" was all Stoick had to say.

The twins were next, but they fought over who'd get to speak first. Barf and Belch instinctively took their respective riders' sides, snapping at each other with their fangs. Their fight only stopped when Barf released a good amount of gas, and Belch instinctively ignited it with a few sparks. The resulting explosion knocked the dragon out.

Finally, there was Fishlegs, who displayed Meatlug with pride. "What you're really looking for is loyalty," he claimed. "A dragon that'll be there for you no matter what. The last face you see at night, and the first face you see in the morning. Warming your bed when it's cold outside...a sh-shoulder to cry on when the world had turned its back on you...how could you _not_ love a Gronckle?!"

Now sobbing hysterically, the 'husky' boy threw his arms around Meatlug's neck, who rumbled comfortingly.

"Sorry, Fishlegs," Stoick responded. "But I'm looking for a dragon, not a mother."

When the chief turned to the seven Speed Stingers that were Snivels's adopted family, he quickly brushed them off, sighing in disappointment.

"I haven't seen anything that could hold accountable to a Night Fury," Stoick said to Hiccup.

"Me neither," Hiccup agreed. "But Toothless is the only Night Fury on Berk, and he's mine."

"STOICK!" bellowed Gobber, rushing in through the gate with Norward hovering behind him. The blacksmith stumbled on his peg leg and panted for breath as he skidded to a stop. "Another boat's being attacked! It's that rogue dragon again!"

Stoick immediately mounted Toothless. Hiccup was about to protest, but decided that it was better to go with it. "At least he blocks the wind," he muttered as he got on behind Stoick.

And without delay, the Night Fury streaked off into the sky - albeit a little roughly, with the extra four hundred pounds of Viking he had to carry with him.

* * *

 **Yes, it's finally here. It seems that this story seems to take a little longer to type than the others. Not that I'm complaining, or anything... Leave me a review, and I'll try to type the next chapter soon.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Loud and Clear

 **The moment of truth is coming.**

* * *

Within five minutes - not two hours - Hiccup, Stoick, and Toothless reached the scene of the crime. Mulch and Bucket, sans their Pokémon partners, were huddled together on their fishing boat, looking around at the calm sea that surrounded them with oars held in their hands defensively. There wasn't a dragon in sight, or even the faintest sign of one.

But not for long.

The water exploded from behind the two fishing Vikings, causing them to jump in fright and whip around to face the spray. A mighty blue dragon hovered in the air before them, its enormous mouth releasing a concussive roar that almost turned the boat over.

"I don't believe it," Hiccup breathed. "It's a Thunderdrum!"

The Thunderdrum flew low over the boat, dropping something that had been on its back. A powerful-looking Druddigon stood face-to-face with Mulch and Bucket, who were too terrified to even question how a non-aquatic Dragon-type could work so well with such a mighty, water-dwelling creature.

"Fire a warning shot," Stoick ordered. "Let them know we mean business."

"Toothless, plasma blast!" added Hiccup, repeating the order. Immediately, Toothless opened his jaws wide and spat a blast of blue fire that soared widely over the Thunderdrum's head. With a mere tilt of his wings, the Tidal Class dragon caught the sea breeze and swerved in the air with surprising grace in order to dodge the plasma. Another tilt, and he was diving beneath the ocean waves.

Mulch and Bucket both screamed like madmen as they ducked and dodged the Druddigon's Dragon Claw attacks. They needn't worry for long, though, as a powerful Dragon Pulse attack stopped the Cave Pokémon right in its tracks.

A Noivern wearing a Blue Scarf around its neck swooped low over the ship, snapping her jaws at Druddigon and raking at him with her talons. When Wavern reached Toothless's height, the Servine on her back was left in full view of the chief and rider.

"What's a trainer without his Pokémon?" Snivels asked, smiling proudly.

Snivels steered Wavern down to the ship, and they both landed on the deck, face-to-face with Druddigon. "Keep him busy," ordered Snivels. "I'll try to find the Thunderdrum."

Wavern obligingly unleashed a powerful Boomburst at Druddigon, who countered with Flash Cannon. The two attacks collided in midair, causing shockwave that blew Druddigon backwards to the hull of the boat. Two seconds later, Wavern was pinning him under her claws.

Toothless landed on the damaged boat, and allowing Hiccup and Stoick to dismount. When they landed, the boat tilted enough to send Snivels sliding into the wall. "That chief really has to lay off the boar chops," the Servine grumbled.

"I think we scared the dragon off," Hiccup said hesitantly. "But he might be back."

"Come on, lads!" commanded Stoick, walking to Mulch and Buckets' side. "We'll escort you back to shore. We'll have no more - "

He didn't get the chance to finish before the Thunderdrum's tail wrapped around his enormous midsection and pulled him into the water. The entire thing had happened in less that two seconds, so fast that even Snivels didn't have time to react.

"No more what?" called Bucket, running to the side of the boat.

"Dad!" cried Hiccup.

"Stoick can swim, right?" Mulch asked nervously.

Hiccup opened his mouth to give an answer, but, as it turned out, an answer wasn't needed. There was an enormous splash as the Thunderdrum reared up out of the water, writhing and bucking wildly as Stoick held on to its snout. Stoick yanked hard on the horn, and they both tumbled to the deck. With the dragon on top of him, the boat was rocking and shaking wildly as he struggled against its might.

"He's a fighter!" yelled Stoick, kicking the Thunderdrum off of him before sending it reeling with a fist to its muzzle.

The Thunderdrum was dazed for just a few seconds before twisting around and knocking Stoick off his feet with its tail. The chief landed next to a large fishing net, and he swiftly tossed it over top of the angry dragon's back.

"He's got spunk!" he cried happily, jumping onto the Thunderdrum's neck and wrestling it to the ground. "This is the one, Hiccup! I found my dragon! Now all you have to do is train him for me!"

At last, the Thunderdrum ceased its futile struggles to wrestle itself free. It let out a loud huff of frustration, its pride thoroughly damaged. Mulch and Bucket both dropped their oars in shock while Hiccup simply gaped.

Snivels was the one who broke the silence, after feeding a Spelon Berry to a gleeful Wavern. "We're gonna need a bigger muzzle."

* * *

It took a while, but Hiccup, Snivels, Toothless and Stoick managed to get the Thunderdrum and Druddigon into one of the academy's cages. They were put in the largest of the cages, which consisted of two huge metal doors fitted with tough iron bars, allowing them to see through to the other side.

"Sorry about the muzzle," Snivels apologized to the glaring dragon. Of course, he was referring to the large brace of metal that wound itself around the Thunderdrum's maw, preventing it from roaring. The most amazing part was how they'd managed to get one in extra-large size on such short notice.

Stoick only tapped a foot impatiently in reply and said, "Alright, now let's get me on his back and into the air. Time's a-wasting."

"That's not how it works," Snivels protested. "A dragon doesn't just let you climb on him, you have to earn his trust first!"

The Thunderdrum and Druddigon both growled in agreement.

"What did they say?" asked a curious Hiccup.

"They were just agreeing with me," Snivels explained. "But I did managed to get their names. The Thunderdrum is Thornado, and the Druddigon is Grudge."

"Look, you have to approach them properly," Hiccup advised. "Especially dragons like these. The Thunderdrum is one of the most powerful dragons I've ever seen."

"That's why I picked him," Stoick argued, stubbornly. "They say he gets his power from Thor himself. He's the God of Thunder, you know."

"So I've heard," muttered Snivels.

Hiccup quickly jumped back in. "It's simple. All you have to do is let them know that you're their friend."

That, at least, got his father thinking a little. He repeated thoughtfully, "A friend, huh? Like me and Gobber?"

"Yeah, perfect!" exclaimed Hiccup. He was pleased that they were finally getting somewhere. "What did you do when you and Gobber first met?"

Immediately, Stoick rushed forward and held his son in a headlock, yelling, "That's my wife you're talking to, you one-legged lout!"

He let Hiccup go, allowing him to clutch his neck and gasp for air. "Not the approach I had in mind," he coughed. "What's important is that you let them know they can trust you. You have to make eye contact," he emphasized, pointing to his own eyes to get his point across.

"Uh-huh, sure," Stoick said impatiently.

Hiccup nodded to Snivels, who pulled the lever that opened the door to the cage. The door opened, and Thornado and Grudge stepped out. They stopped just a few feet away from Stoick.

"Stay calm and gentle," Hiccup warned. "You'll know you've formed a bond when Thornado bows his head and lets you climb on his back."

Seeming to listen to his advice, Stoick held out his hand to the Thunderdrum, slowly moving forward as he did so. Thornado didn't move, only narrowed his eyes. But when the Viking got too close, he suddenly snapped his jaws. At the same time, Grudge swung his claws sharply through the air in front of him.

Frantically, Stoick jumped away from the still-angry dragons, clutching his hand. He examined it and saw that it was indeed still there, and then furiously smashed the Thunderdrum back into the cage with his fist. Grudge lunged forward to attack in response.

"Wait, wait!" stammered Hiccup, aghast. "What happened to trust?!"

"Tell that to them!" Stoick said angrily as he clamped Grudge's jaws shut.

Thornado then charged out of the cage, racing past Stoick in an attempt to escape. But Stoick was too fast for him - just as Thornado was about to soar free, the chief grabbed his tail and tried to pull him back down. The dragon shrieked and flapped his wings as he attempted to break free of his captor's grip.

"This is not bonding!" shouted Hiccup.

"Nah, you just have to show these beasts who's boss," insisted Stoick. He then raised his arms and, in a feat of physical prowess that would have made a Machamp turn green with envy, he used his grip on the tail to slam Thornado into the ground. While the Thunderdrum was dazed, he quickly jumped onto its back.

"Look at that," he said with satisfaction. "I'm on his back. Any questions?" he added to Hiccup, smugly.

Suddenly, Grudge pounced on Stoick from behind, buying Thornado just enough time to collect his thoughts and take off, flying frantic circles around the arena. While Stoick whooped and hollered, enjoying the wild ride, the Thunderdrum flew right out of the gate and into the open sky, vanishing quickly from sight.

"Oh, too many to ask," Hiccup muttered.

Snivels, who had been amazingly silent up until then, grumbled, "I may have anticipated that."

* * *

Hiccup decided it was best to head home after the disastrous training incident. Blaze was resting on the couch, a large plate of smoked trout sitting precariously on her midsection. Every now and again, she'd grab a fish and drop it lazily down her throat.

Very un-Blaze-like, indeed.

Snivels and Kickin' Hawk were on the other side of the room, the Servine with his elongated nose in a book while the Hawlucha preened his feathers.

"He never listens to me," he complained, "It's like I'm wasting my breath."

Kickin' Hawk sighed. "That's the thing with fathers, especially if they're Vikings."

"And why Druddigon?" Hiccup asked quite suddenly. "I mean, I would have expected a Thunderdrum to have a Dragon-type partner that's sound-based, or even semi-aquatic."

Snivels look up from the book he was reading. "Pokémon partners don't always end up suiting the trainer, or dragon, they're paired with," he explained. "Flygon wasn't exactly the Deadly Nadders' first choice, but they get along well enough to work together." He then closed the book and set it aside. "As far as Stoick goes, you really shouldn't stress out about it so much. It'll just mess up your head."

"What's that about my head?!" snapped the Blaziken on the couch.

Snivels gave her a yielding look. "Not you," he promised. "And I thought Astrid was with you, where is she?"

"Getting more trout," said Blaze matter-of-factly. "It's like I can't get enough of them." She dropped another small fish down her throat, not even bothering to chew.

Snivels's eyes shone with an epiphany. "Of course," he uttered, "The strange appetite, the mood swings, the lethargy..." The sound of the door opening reminded him that he wasn't the only creature in the room. Astrid walked in with a basket full of trout slung over her shoulder.

Perfect timing.

"Guys," Snivels began nervously. "I don't know how to say this, so I'll whisper it to Kickin' Hawk, and he'll blurt it out in astonishment." True to his word, the Servine leaned in so his mouth was next to where Hiccup guessed the Hawlucha's ear was. After a few seconds of incoherent whispering, the room practically overflowed with loud vocals.

"Blaze is _pregnant?!_ "

"WHAT?!"

That first shout came from an amazed Kickin' Hawk, while the second originated from a shocked Astrid. The female trainer dropped the basket she had been carrying and took staggering steps backwards, her eyes landing on her gravid partner, whose head shot up with interest.

"Relax," said an amazingly calm Snivels. "It's completely natural, Blaze will be back to her old self just as soon as she's laid her egg. Or eggs, 'cause, you know, clutches happen sometimes."

Eyes lit up with unrivaled happiness and pride, Kickin' Hawk rushed over to Blaze, resting a clawed hand on her talon-like ones. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the eggs' father was. The Blaziken and Hawlucha had been subtly pining for each other since they'd met, it was only a matter of time before they became official mates and started having their own little family.

"HICCUP!"

The tender moment was interrupted by a sudden shout, and everyone turned to see a soaking wet and badly bruised Stoick heading their way. "How did he find this place?!" asked an irritated Snivels.

"Dad, what happened?" asked Hiccup in a much calmer voice.

"Those beasts threw me off and flew away to Thor knows where," he replied bitterly.

"Well, do you blame them?" Snivels said disapprovingly. "All you three did was fight!"

"No, they loved it!" Stoick said, laughing.

"Obviously not," stated Hiccup, who was beginning to lose his patience.

"We can stand here arguing," Stoick snorted, already marching off, "Or we can get my dragons back!"

Blaze started to get up, only for Kickin' Hawk to push her back down. "Rest," he insisted gently. "We'll handle this."

And handle it, they would.

* * *

The rest of Team Go-Getters had (reluctantly) agreed to help Stoick search for Thornado and Grudge. Being out there with a muzzle blocking his jaws, the Thunderdrum wouldn't be able to eat for long, unless his Druddigon partner somehow found a way to get the contraption off.

Reluctantly, Hiccup allowed his father to ride Toothless one last time, much to the Night Fury's poorly-disguised misery. The rest of the team all sat comfortably on their own dragons, and together, they set out about the island that evening in search of the missing dragons.

"Alright, we have to fan out and cover every part of the island!" ordered Stoick.

Unfortunately for the chief, it was soon made clear that the Pokémon of Team Go-Getters didn't like the idea of following his commands.

"Everyone split up," Hiccup began. "Xylia, Palus, you two take the west side. Amber and Kickin' Hawk, to the north."

"You got it, leader," the Grovyle replied, soaring off on Spiral with her Marshtomp friend sitting in the saddle behind her.

"Can you take the east side?" Hiccup directed at his second-in-command.

Astrid's choice response was a firm nod. She hadn't spoken a word since finding out about Blaze's...predicament.

That left Hiccup, Stoick and Snivels to cover the southern side of the island. "Well," the chief yelled over the wind, "Your friends are an odd bunch, but they sure know what they're doing on those dragons."

"Thanks, I think," Hiccup replied with a shrug.

They flew for another half hour through the quickly-darkening sky, in complete silence until Hiccup spoke up again. He said hesitantly, "You know, Dad, when we find the dragons, you might want to consider approaching them a little differently. Obviously, they don't like being pushed around."

" _There_ they are!" exclaimed Stoick, pointing to something blue down below that retreated into a cliffside cave.

"And once again, not a word gets through," Snivels muttered.

The Night Fury and Noivern landed in front of the cave, in the small clearing that it opened up to, and the Thunderdrum came charging to meet them. He stopped right in front of the cavern entrance and growled threatingly, spreading his wings defensively. Toothless reared up and let out a roar in response, only for Hiccup to press his hand against his snout and settle him down.

"Let me handle this," Stoick cautioned, taking out his hammer. "These dragons are mine."

Hiccup stepped forward to try and restrain him, but he marched forward anyway, the hammer held firmly in his grasp.

Thornado kept close to the cave entrance and didn't budge, flaring his wings wider as if to block the cave. Stoick looked fiercely into the dragon's eyes, and he responded with his own sizzling stare. Things were looking tense.

But then a mournful, whale-like cry echoed from out of the depths of the cave. Surprised, Stoick lowered his hammer slightly. He, Hiccup and Snivels looked past the Thunderdrum and into the darkness that he determinedly blocked.

Simultaneously, their eyes widened as they noticed a purple, female Thunderdrum sprawled out on the cave floor, resting there with a huge tear in her wing and her yellow eyes glazed with fear and pain.

"There's another Thunderdrum in there," Stoick breathed, his grip on the hammer faltering.

"She's hurt," Hiccup observed.

Snivels's eyes glinted with realization. "That's why Thornado and Grudge have been taking all those fish. They're trying to protect her."

As if on cue, the Druddigon padded out from his hiding place in the cave, a blue and red-spiked egg cradled in his claws. Snivels eyed the egg with amazement as Grudge brought it over to show off proudly.

"Is it going to hatch soon?" the Servine asked curiously. He didn't wait for Grudge's answer before he asked his second question. "Where's the mother?"

Grudge lowered his head and let out a sad growl, embracing the egg like a lifeline.

Snivels understood instantly. Grudge was another one of those Pokémon who had lost their loved ones in the war. It was heartbreaking to think about how so many creatures could end up getting caught in the crossfire.

The egg was all Grudge had left. The only piece of his mate that still remained.

But there was still hope for Thornado's mate, if they acted quickly enough.

"Go get the others," Snivels ordered Wavern urgently.

The Noivern obligingly flapped her powerful wings and took to the air, flying back the way they had come. If they were lucky, she'd find the rest of the team relatively quickly.

Thornado took slow, cautious steps towards the hammer-wielding Viking, the muzzle still restraining his jaws. Stoick set the hammer down, leaving himself completely unarmed. He held his hand out to the Thunderdrum, this time sincerely trying to bond with him.

This time, the Thunderdrum reared up and roared, startling the group. But it wasn't looking at the chief - his narrowed eyes were focused on something behind him. Both humans and Servine turned around to see a sounder of wild boars emerge from the dark forest, clambering over the cliffs with red eyes glowing in the fading light of day. Thornado's injured mate moaned lowly and tried to back further into the cave.

"They smell the blood of your wounded friend," Stoick told the male Thunderdrum, who growled again.

Snivels stared at the approaching boars with apprehension. "And I left the Speed Stingers at home, too..."

As if responding to some invisible signal, the boars attacked, squealing battle cries and charging toward the small group. Without bothering to set down his egg, Grudge charged forward and swung his claws with all his might, bellowing at the top of his lungs. He slashed this way and that, advancing on the swine and batting them aside as if they were nothing. Several tumbled over the nearby cliff.

"He won't be able to hold them off for long," observed Hiccup. "We have to get these guys out of here, now!"

But Thornado wasn't leaving without a fight. The Thunderdrum lunged forward and, in spite of his muzzle, let out a might half-roar, half-growl. His tail slashed past Grudge, knocking away a stray boar that the Druddigon had failed to see.

Suddenly aware that he was carrying an extra life, Grudge retreated behind his Thunderdrum companion, cradling his egg as close and as hard as he could without cracking the shell.

Snivels and Toothless immediately took the Druddigon's place, firing Solar Beams and plasma blasts at any boar that got too close. But they knew as well as anyone that Pokémon and dragon attacks had a limit, and if help didn't arrive soon, they'd be up a creek without a paddle.

Stoick scrambled forward and smacked one of the boars into a wall, knocking it out. But a glance into the increasingly dark woods revealed more red eyed glinting menacingly from its depths. The fight wasn't over.

The chief turned to the Thunderdrum, and they made eye contact. A silent agreement was made, and Stoick extended his hand a final time for the Tidal Class dragon to immediately push his head into. Skin met scales, and Stoick finally felt what Hiccup had tried to show him the other day.

They had bonded.

Snivels and Hiccup both witnessed the scene, the former in disbelief and the latter in awe.

The boars kept coming closer, their low grunts seeming to become more impatient. Stoick, hearing them, clamped his meaty hand around Thornado's metal muzzle and ripped it off, to be thrown over the cliff behind him. He climbed onto the Thunderdrum's back and allowed the dragon to carry him into the air, hovering in front of the horde.

A screech rang out into the twilit air, and a squadron of dragons landed near the cliffside cave. Hiccup, Snivels and Toothless were there in an instant. "We need to get her out of here!" ordered the team leader, referring to Thornado's mate.

The male Thunderdrum released one concussive roar after another, but the boars kept coming. Stoick knew they had to face the facts. "There's too many of them!"

Grudge kept his gaze down at the egg in his arms. The egg that held his future son, or daughter. He wouldn't let the boars get to it, no matter what it took.

His eyes set firm and determined, the Druddigon padded over to where Hiccup stood. The one-legged rider stood as still as a statue, worrying silently about what the Cave Pokémon was about to do.

Much to his, and everyone else's, surprise and confusion, Grudge reached out and placed the egg gently into Hiccup's hands, rearranging the trainer's grip so that he was cradling it in his palms. The expression on the Druddigon's face said, all too clearly, _Take care of my baby._

And then he turned, facing the oncoming boars fearlessly, in spite of the numbers that tipped the scale into their favor.

"Grudge?" called a worried Snivels.

The Druddigon didn't even bother to look back. His eyes were locked on all the boars that were looming out of the shadows of the forest. They weren't leaving this area without getting at least something out of their raid.

Then, with a burst of surprising speed, Grudge lunged forward, slashing and biting and stomping with all his might, knocking the boars down and to the side and every which way.

"Grudge!" Snivels called more urgently. Again, the Druddigon refused to look back.

Hiccup knew, right when the Cave Pokémon handed him the egg, the egg that would soon be an orphan, what Grudge's intentions were.

He was sacrificing himself so they could escape.

But Snivels didn't want to leave a friend behind. He tried one last time, "GRUDGE!"

The Druddigon's head twitched a little, fighting back the urge to take one last look back at the ones whose lives he was saving. The boars were charging in fives now, their tusks digging in between his spikes and leaving deep scratches. Every one boar that Grudge knocked out of the fight, three more would take its place.

Hiccup turned away before the scene got too graphic. "Snivels," he urged gently but firmly, "We need to go."

Finally, the Servine relented, mounting Wavern with a heavy heart.

It was an easy process, lifting the injured female as a group. The hard part was leaving Grudge behind. The boars were piling on him now, obscuring him from their view. But they could hear his pained cries even as they flew away, leaving the mighty Dragon-type to the fate he had chosen.

The egg still cradled safely in Hiccup's arms was the last thing Grudge saw before he succumbed to darkness as black as a Night Fury's scales.

* * *

The members of Team Go-Getters all sat in a circle, staring at Grudge's egg, which had been placed in a box full of straw to keep it warm.

"I still can't believe that Grudge just gave you his egg," said Astrid, in a tone Hiccup couldn't quite place.

Her boyfriend sighed sadly. "Well, somehow Grudge knew that it would be safer with us." He laid a hand upon the egg's shell. "He did what he had to do." But that didn't make it hurt any less.

Was it his imagination, or was there something moving inside the shell?

The egg jerked suddenly, soft growls emitting from the inside. Hiccup withdrew his hand in surprise. The egg rocked again, and a long crack splintered across the top of it.

Had the egg really been that close to hatching? Had Grudge been aware that he was so close to seeing his child, and yet he'd willingly given his life anyway?

Blaze leaned in a little and watched with interest. If she was going to have her own eggs soon, she needed to see how the hatching process went, so she could be ready for when her and Kickin' Hawk's eggs were due.

Finally, the shell splintered into a thousand pieces, sending bits of eggshell flying everywhere.

Sitting in the nest of straw, blinking, was a tiny green and orange Druddigon.

"Wow!" Snivels gasped.

The little Druddigon looked up, up, up, with his green eyes, blinking curiously at all of the strange and amazing creatures that surrounded him.

Hiccup started to extend his hand, then stopped, unsure of what to do. The baby Druddigon stared at this strange new thing in front of him, reaching out and poking it curiously with one of his claws.

"We're your friends," said Snivels in a soft voice. He reached out to stroke the little one's head. "You're safe with us."

"We need a Druddigon name for him," said a observant Amber.

Palus agreed, "Yeah, something...dragon-y."

"Very insightful, Palus," retorted Xylia sarcastically.

Hiccup, who had been stunned into silence until then, suggested, "How about Spike?"

The baby Druddigon pushed his head into the team leader's extended hand, agreeing with the name.

"Hello, Spike," greeted Blaze in a soft, almost motherly, voice. "Welcome to the world."

Someday they'd all tell Spike the story about how his father was one of the bravest Pokémon they'd ever seen, or even heard of, in all their lives. How he'd made the ultimate sacrifice for the only family he had left after what the war had taken from him.

There was a loud roar from outside, and they all knew instinctively that it was Stoick and Brumous riding on Thornado. With any luck, the Thunderdrum's mate (Snivels said her name was Whirlwing), was soaring in the sky beside them.

* * *

 _Well, Dad still does things the Viking way._

 _Fortunately, Team Go-Getters was able to show him that the Viking way can also be the Dragon way._

* * *

 **Leave me a review and leave your opinion about the chapter, and I'll keep in touch.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Portrait of Hiccup

 **This might have a few twists, but basically it's the same concept of the original.**

* * *

 _Measuring up to a Viking father isn't easy. Especially when that Viking father is also the chief of your village._

 _So when you get a chance to prove your worth, you jump on it - e_ _ven when you really don't need it._

* * *

"Remind me again why you have to do this," grumbled Snivels.

The gang was all in the Great Hall that morning, waiting for Hiccup to be finished with his father and Bucket. It had been at least two weeks since the battle with the Outcasts on Dragon Island, and some Vikings had even taken to calling it the Battle of Helheim's Shores (after the old name for Dragon Island, "Helheim's Gate"). To celebrate that victory, Stoick had decided to do what every Chief of Berk before him had done.

Hiccup was to have his portrait painted with his father, which would be hung in the Great Hall for future generations to admire. Of all the members of Team Go-Getters, only their leader was elated at that news, and he was currently holding on to that feeling as he and Stoick stood straight in front of Bucket's easel as the half-brainless Viking worked with his paints. In his hand, Hiccup held a shield, and his father had a hand on his shoulder and a sword, blade balanced on the floor, in his other hand.

"I told you before, Snivels, it's tradition," Hiccup said in reply to his friend's comment.

"And partner Pokémon aren't included in the portrait because...?" Snivels started.

Hiccup was about to answer, but Stoick beat him to it. "The tradition was made especially for the chief and his son." There was no amount of measure that could tell how much pride his voice carried as he said that. "Now, shoulders back and chin up, son. This portrait's going to hang in this hall forever!"

"Or until the whole building comes crashing down," joked Blaze before she resumed stuffing her face with smoked trout.

Bucket suddenly stood up from his easel, muttering to himself, and walked up to them with frustration in his stride. Hiccup watched in bewilderment as he brushed some dust off of Stoick's shoulder pad and straightened the shield.

"I can't do this!" he suddenly wailed, and then ran headlong into a pillar. After pounding his head a few times, he added, "Okay, I'm good now."

"Wow," Amber murmured, as Bucket went back to painting, "That was weird, even for a Viking."

Stoick explained, "After he lost half of his brain, he discovered his hidden talent. He became an artist."

Snivels, who had a good clear view of the portrait from where he sat, scowled at what he saw on the canvas. "I've seen newly-hatched Smeargle paint better pictures than that."

"He's the best of the best," Stoick argued. "He's going to do us proud. This portrait will take its place alongside all the others of past chiefs and their sons."

He pointed over to the far wall, specifically to the last in a line of ornate shields that hung there, all in a row. "That is the only picture of me and my own father. It was a great day, and so is this."

Nothing he said made the Servine's glare falter in the slightest.

Hiccup gazed at his friend with concern. Whatever Snivels was seeing, he didn't like it at all.

 _How bad could it be?_

* * *

That night, as all the adult Vikings had their meals in the darkened, torch-lit hall, Hiccup and his friends clustered around the line of portraits that hung away from the hubbub. Everyone on the team kept a modest distance back, not very interested but feeling obligated to take a look.

"If you ask me," said Snivels, voice filled with dissatisfaction, "These Vikings are doing too hard a job of keeping the illusion of power and control sturdy."

"What illusion?" Astrid asked, a hand on Hiccup's shoulder and the other gesturing to the paintings. "These are great leaders."

Snivels avoided her gaze. "Leaders that killed helpless dragonets," he said in a low, melancholy voice. "And forced non-dragon Pokémon to join them in a fight that could have been avoided." He turned his head a little so he could see the couple out of the corner of his eye. "Do you really not know how many of us were injured and killed in the crossfire of the war? I had to watch my parents die right in front of me!"

Astrid stood there stunned for a brief moment before finally managing to force out, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Why didn't you ask?" Snivels argued. "It's not the sort of thing that just comes up in conversation." He then provided an example, "Oh, hi! My name is Snivels. My whole family was killed by Vikings, how's yours?"

His voice carried all throughout the hall, and Vikings from every which way turned their heads to stare at the group in confusion.

The awkward atmosphere was shattered when a Shiny Dratini and a miniscule, Shiny Druddigon came barreling out of nowhere, playing a friendly game of tag. While Ryu slide gracefully across the floor as she turned to dash off in another direction, Spike stumbled over his own feet and collided into the wall, causing one of the portraits to fall and land on his head.

"That's gonna leave a mark," uttered a sympathetic Amber.

"I've got him," Blaze said to no one in particular, kneeling down to lift the painted shield off of poor Spike. A task that was more difficult than it looked, since she had gotten noticeably bigger in the stomach area.

(For the sake of her pride - and dignity - her friends pretended not to notice.)

The Blaziken pushed herself back on her feet and hung the portrait in its proper place on the wall. As she did so, a single piece of parchment fluttered down from its hiding place. Before it could touch the floor, Blaze snatched it with one flick of the wrist.

Even when gravid, she still had her reflexes.

"This is interesting," she said, unfolding it to see what it contained. "Looks like some kind of map."

The whole team gathered around to get a look at it. "With riddles," Snivels observed.

A hand suddenly flew out from nowhere and ripped the map right out of Blaze's hand. "I'll take that," grunted Gobber, "All of these should have been destroyed."

"Why?" asked Astrid with a skeptical look. "What's so special about it?"

Gobber held it out of her reach and replied, "Many men lost their limbs, their lives, and their minds trying to find that treasure."

The members of Team Go-Getters all looked at him perplexed, clueless as to what the blacksmith was referring to.

Except for Kickin' Hawk. "The Resistance told me all about that - the treasure of Hamish the First. Allegedly, his son buried him with it and made a map containing clues so complicated that only a brilliant mind could decipher them."

"Brilliant by Viking standards," said Snivels, "But child's play for creatures like us." He gestured to the group as a whole.

Gobber started, then refrained. "Stoick and I even went after this treasure, but all it did was lure us up into the mountains, in a blinding snowstorm. We fought like badgers over the clues. In fact, we were lucky to make it back with our lives, and no less our friendship intact."

Tucking the map into his pocket, he warned, "For your own good, forget you ever saw this."

The Viking then limped off, leaving a hushed silence behind.

* * *

It was a fact that most Vikings were early birds, but the whole village was up at the break of dawn the next morning, and in a state of great excitement. The Great Hall was packed with villagers that had turned up to watch the unveiling of Bucket's completed painting. Team Go-Getters was up at the front of the audience, with a perfect view of what was to be revealed.

Hiccup was in front of the crowd with his father, eyes wide and fixed on the easel, covered with a silk cloth in order to heighten the mystery. Against Snivels's better judgment, he was excited to see just what would be added to the annuls of Berk for all time.

The Servine's muscles tensed, he knew what was coming. He was ready to make his move, to break the illusion that the Vikings worked so hard to uphold.

"Here it comes, son," Stoick said, gesturing to the easel. "This is our legacy."

Bucket grabbed the silk. He paused for effect - and he pulled, revealing the painting in all its glory.

If you could call it that, because the moment Hiccup saw what had been painted, he knew exactly the reason why Snivels had been glaring at it so intensely the other day.

He had been painted in such a way that to make him appear more muscular than even Snotlout.

Naturally, the crowd loved it. But Hiccup was absolutely appalled.

The painful moment lasted all too long before a green blur came in out of nowhere and shattered the painting into a million tiny pieces with one powerful Leaf Blade.

The Vikings in the crowd collectively gasped in horror at the destroyed masterpiece (more like disasterpiece). Stoick glared angrily at the Servine that was standing right in the middle of the wreckage. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO A PORTRAIT OF YOUR FRIEND?!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"How could you allow your own son to be portrayed like that?" Snivels retorted. When he received no answer, he stepped down off the stage and headed for the exit.

There really wasn't any reason to stick around. Hiccup's friends left for their living quarters, but the team leader himself headed for the woods, Toothless at his heels. He just wanted to be alone.

* * *

Hiccup wandered aimlessly in the woods, along the coast, and even through Mildew's cabbage field, but still didn't feel any better about what had happened that morning. So, he headed to the team living quarters. Astrid was waiting for him on the front steps, her expression sympathetic. Hiccup sighed and sat down on the steps next to his girlfriend.

"I can't believe it, " he sighed. "My dad likes that portrait more than he likes the real me! I mean, even my name! You all know that it's Viking tradition to name the runt of the litter 'Hiccup.' What do I have to do to get my father to accept me?"

Astrid put her hand on his shoulder. "He does accept you," she told him, soothingly. Then she added bluntly, "He just accepts the painting more."

Hiccup was about to get up and leave when Astrid suddenly pulled him into a hug. He froze momentarily, then relaxed somewhat when she gently and quickly pressed her lips against his.

"Look at it this way," she said, once she had pulled away, "I accept you just the way you are."

"Thanks, Astrid," Hiccup replied, his spirits rising. "That means everything to me."

She only smirked and gave him a punch to the shoulder that sent him tumbling down the steps they'd been sitting on. But at least she helped him up once he came to a stop.

 _At least my friends like me the way I am,_ Hiccup thought.

Then, something caught his attention. Snivels was heading their way with a folded piece of paper held tightly in his hands. The closer the Servine got, the more clearly they could see his face - it was full of the kind of determination that one usually wore when they wanted to prove someone wrong.

"What are you doing with that?" Hiccup questioned, pointing at the paper that Snivels was holding.

"I was able to swipe it out of the forge while Gobber was absent," he replied, unfolding the paper in a dramatic fashion and flattening it on the ground so they could look at it more clearly. "Vikings tried and failed to find the treasure because they didn't follow the clues properly. But we can!"

That got Hiccup's attention. Strategy and intelligence were two of Team Go-Getters' strong suits. What would the Berkians say if they accomplished something not even the high and mighty Stoick the Vast could do?

"I know that look," Astrid sighed. "You're going to go after this no matter what I say, right?"

"No," Hiccup replied, " _We_ are going to go after this, as a team." He then directed at Snivels, "Gather the others, and tell them to meet us in the Great Hall. That map was hidden behind the portrait of Hamish the First and his son, so we'll start there."

Snivels obligingly handed his trainer the map before heading inside the living quarters to spread the news to the rest of the team.

* * *

In just a few minutes, the whole team had gathered in the Great Hall, staring at the portrait of Hamish the First and his son. Only Gobber, Stoick and their partners were inside, and they were too caught up in their own conversation to notice the group.

Hiccup took out the map and unfolded it. " _Where the land meets the sea, in the crook of the master's knee, that's where your search will be,_ " he recited.

Everyone started racking their brains to figure out what that meant.

Snivels eyes suddenly lit up and he looked up at the portrait. Hamish the First was standing with his foot perched on a rock, striking a heroic pose (as heroic as a Viking could get, anyway). His raised leg was bent slightly, and his exposed knee pointed to an oddly-shaped rock spire jutting out from the sea behind them.

"Look there, where his knee bends!" exclaimed the Servine, pointing. "Anyone recognize that rock?"

"I do," said Blaze, to everyone's surprise. "I can lead us there."

Kickin' Hawk's eyes went wide. "No! You're - "

"Gravid, I know," the Blaziken said. "And here's the thing - I'm just as capable of being a Go-Getter with or without these eggs in me."

There was no sense in trying to argue with her. She'd been trained by Astrid, after all.

* * *

A few minutes had passed when Team Go-Getters guided their dragon steeds down to the northernmost beach, upon which there was a spectacular view of the water and the small field of spires that rose out from the waves a short distance away - including one strangely-shaped one. The same one as in Hamish's portrait.

"Okay, what's the next riddle?" Blaze asked, turning to Hiccup.

The team leader quickly got out the map again and read aloud the next clue. " _From here you will see a sea that's been sown, look to where water turns to bone._ "

"'Turns to bone'?" Xylia repeated, "What does that mean?" The Grovyle started scratching her chin.

"It's a metaphor," Snivels realized. "Think of it this way - when does a liquid become a solid?"

"When it freezes!" Amber answered automatically.

"The glacier," Hiccup muttered, lookng at a distant mountain of ice.

With their next destination clear, they urged their dragon companions back into the sky and across the sea, toward the titanic glacier.

It didn't take Team Go-Getters at all long to reach the iceberg, and soon they were flying into a vast cave whose opening yawned wide in the side of the icy structure. Everyone dismounted their dragons and stared in awe at their surroundings - the walls and floor of the cavern were made purely of ice, and there could be seen more than one Viking frozen for all of eternity inside.

"There's something down there!" Hiccup said suddenly, catching sight of a small, dark object buried in the floor underneath them.

"That guy saw it, too," muttered Palus, pointing to a frozen Viking nearby. It was easy to hear the fear in the Marshtomp's voice.

Hiccup unfolded the map and read the next clue. " _Call on Justice, you'll go astray. Moltres, though, will show the way._ "

"I think I know this one," Snivels said, kneeling down to examine the ice. He looked up and noticed a large, heavy mace positioned above the area, a booby trap for those who would try to break the ice to get the object. "We can't break the ice," he determined, "That's what 'Justice' means. The Legendary Pokémon known as the Swords of Justice are all Fighting-types."

"But Moltres..." Hiccup began.

There was a brief pause before the two of them finished at the same time, "Is a Fire-type!"

"Then that's exactly what we're going to use," Kickin' Hawk said, nodding to Blaze. The Blaziken didn't hesitate to fire a Flamethrower on the icy floor, with Amber joining in with her own Flamethrower. Their combined attacks quickly melted a hole in the floor, revealing some kind of ornate, artistically-designed piece of metal, with parts on the sides which made it seem like it would fit together with something. Hiccup picked up the piece to take a look at it.

"It looks like a key," Snivels observed.

Hiccup grabbed the object and lifted it up to his eye level. He began, "This is just the first piece -"

But suddenly, there was a loud rumbling noise, and bits of ice rained down from the walls and ceiling of the cave.

"It's collapsing!" Snivels screamed over the noise.

"Get outside!" Kickin' Hawk yelled, heading for the exit.

The rest of Team Go-Getters didn't hesitate to follow him. Kickin' Hawk glanced back to see Dragonfly and Ryu lagging behind, with chunks of ice landing on the floor around them. The Hawlucha skidded to a stop and headed back to save the Trapinch and Dratini.

A huge chunk of ice broke off from the ceiling and started down toward them.

Kickin' Hawk leaped into the air and hit the ice with a powerful Brick Break, shattering it into mutiple pieces. He landed in front of Dragonfly and Ryu, and quickly grabbed them before heading for the exit. The other members of Team Go-Getters were waiting for them outside, on their respective dragons.

Kickin' Hawk made it out just as the ice blocked out the entrance. He jumped up onto Stormfly's back and handed Dragonfly and Ryu to Astrid, before jumping off of the glacier and gliding on the wind. The remaining members of Team Go-Getters followed him, lifting off of the glacier just as it collapsed to the ground.

Once they were all a safe distance from the collapsing ice, Hiccup turned to Snivels. "Where do we go now?" he asked.

Snivels held Spike close to him with one hand and held onto Buck's horns with the other. "We head to the rocks," he said, "We'll figure it out once we're on a secure surface."

Hiccup nodded in agreement before he steered Toothless away, leading his friends to safety.

* * *

 **The Viking teens will appear later, probably helping Stoick and Gobber find Team Go-Getters. If you want to, you can try and solve the riddle that Snivels gave Palus, and you can even tell me your answer in your review. There will be another riddle in the next chapter, and I'll reveal the answers to both near the end. Review, follow, or favorite!**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: A Real Treasure

 **You'll probably figure out the meaning of the name of the chapter near the end. If you don't, you're probably just as smart as a Viking. Take Snivels's word for it.**

* * *

"I...never...want...to see...another...glacier...again!" Snivels said, panting. The entirety of Team Go-Getters had managed to reach the rock spires that were out in the middle of the ocean before taking any serious damage, and they had paused to catch a few breathers before continuing their hunt for the treasure. Ryu and Dragonfly were quite shaken by the experience, as they had nearly been crushed by icicles.

Hiccup waited patiently as his friends got their breath (and possibly their confidence) back. " _At the edge of the world, admits the raging sea, in the serpent's mouth lies another key._ " he read from the map.

Snivels thought for a minute before noticing something far off into the ocean. "Over there!" he said, pointing. There was a rock spire that looked strikingly similar to a serpent that was rising up out of the sea.

"I'm guessing that's where the next key is," Amber said in amazement.

Hiccup was about to call for Toothless when Snivels stopped him. "You can't take a Night Fury with a wingspan of 48 feet and expect him to hover on winds like that, it's too dangerous!"

Hiccup thought for a minute before asking, "How big is a Grapple Grounder's wingspan?"

Snivels turned to look at Buck, and the Grapple Grounder glanced at his own wings nervously.

And that was how Hiccup found himself dangling on a juvenile Grapple Grounder's long tail while Snivels rode up near the dragon's head. Both the winds and the weight of what he was carrying were playing havoc with Buck's ability to fly, making him lurch from side to side despite his best efforts to steady himself.

"Keep him steady," Hiccup warned, as they flew closer to their destination.

"You think I'm not trying?!" Snivels responded. After a moment he added a sympathetic, "Sorry."

Together, they somewhat awkwardly flew up to the 'mouth' of the spire, where a small piece of metal was nestled snugly inside. Hiccup reached several times for it, but each time, the wind kicked up to push him away. At one point, he almost slammed into the spire, and he silently thanked Arceus that he didn't.

Hiccup slid down Buck's tail until another inch would send him tumbling into the sea. With his prosthetic foot this time, he reached into the alcove and tried to pick up the key. He tried unsuccessfully several times, and even managed to come close to securing it at one point, but it always slipped away.

"I'm guessing it's much too late to start having second thoughts about this treasure hunt," lamented Snivels.

Keeping in mind how right the Servine was, Hiccup decided to give it one more shot. He rested his prosthetic on the key, braced himself, and kicked it into the air. It soared high, then dropped right into his hand. For a second, the trainer and his Pokémon thought it was on the verge of slipping through the former's fingers, but he tightened his grip on it and nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay, got it!" he called triumphantly. "How's that for a Hiccup?"

With a relieved smile, Snivels obligingly steered Buck away from the spire and toward the waiting Team Go-Getters. "Trust me," said the Servine, "Of all the Hiccups in the world, you're definitely the Hiccup-est."

* * *

The map seemed to lead into the woods back on Berk, so Team Go-Getters flew there in order to find the next clue. The next fifteen minutes or so consisted of them riding their dragons through the dense trees, with Snivels carrying the map.

"They fit together," Hiccup realized, connecting the two keys that they had gathered. "We're on the right track."

"Was there ever any doubt?" asked Kickin' Hawk, a hint of a grin stretching the corners of his mouth.

"So, Hiccup, what are you going to do with your share of the treasure?" Amber asked curiously.

"I'm not really here for the treasure," Hiccup answered, shrugging.

Astrid urged Stormfly forward until she was beside her boyfriend. "You don't have to do this, you know."

Sighing, Hiccup shook his head and replied, "Try telling that to my father."

Their journey came to a halt once the trees thinned, and a strange rock wall blocked their way. The wall was made up of two large frames that consisted of large boulders stacked neatly on top of one another, while the rest was made from a huge pile of neatly-stacked rocks. The entire thing towered at least thirty feet in the air, and even though it was out in the middle of the woods, it didn't look the least bit natural.

"Why would anyone build a wall in the middle of the forest?" wondered Blaze.

Snivels handed the map to Hiccup, and he started reading. " _The world is right, the stars align. When not in sync, the danger you'll find._ "

"What do you think it means?" Astrid asked him.

"There are shapes carved in the rocks," Amber said, pointing a claw at the stones.

"Good eye," complimented Snivels.

"Keep an eye out for anything that looks like a star," Hiccup advised.

There was a moment of silence before Snivels announced, "I see two." He pointed at the wall, revealing two star-shaped carvings, one slightly higher than the other.

"It says 'in sync'," Hiccup muttered. "That must mean we need to pull them both out at the same time."

"No problem," Snivels said, turning to the dragons. "Buck? Spiral?"

Hearing their names, the two juvenile Grapple Grounders approached the wall, each taking one of the two blocks with the star carvings in their jaws and pulling them out. The wall trembled, before splitting into two halves and opening like a door, revealing the entrance to a cave. Without hesitating, the entirety of Team Go-Getters all walked into the cave. The minute they were all inside, the doors closed.

The cave was almost pitch-black, except for the small space that was lit by Amber's tail flame. Hiccup gestured for her to lead the way.

With the Charmeleon leading them deeper into the cave, Team Go-Getters eventually found themselves in a vast cavern. In the center, there was a shallow pit with six pedestals, each containing a key, each of which was made of a different material.

"Is it hot in here, or is that just me?" Snivels asked, wiping his forehead.

"And is the floor moving?" Tito asked, looking down. Amber lowered her flame to reveal several lizard-sized dragons covering the floor.

"Fireworms," Snivels muttered. "Careful, their skin is said to burn hotter than the sun."

"How hot is the sun?" Palus asked nervously as he watched a small Fireworm crawl up onto his back.

Snivels's eyes went wide at the sight. "Very," he squeaked.

The Fireworm on Palus's back suddenly glowed red-hot, and the Marshtomp yelped in pain. His yell startled the small dragon, who fell to the floor. Then the rest of the Fireworms began to glow.

"That's not good," muttered Kickin' Hawk.

Hiccup, knowing that he would have to work fast, ran to the middle of the pit with Toothless at his side.

"Grab everything and let's go!" yelled Blaze.

"No," Hiccup yelled back, "It's a choice." Then, taking out the map, he continued, " _Something pure and something strong, look first to yourself and you won't go wrong._ "

He looked around at the six choices available to him, again noticing that each key was made of a different material.

Despite his friends' frantic screams, Hiccup glanced calmly at all of the keys. Many of them were made with rare and valuable materials, but there was one that seemed to stand out from the others. It was a key made of copper. It wasn't pure or strong, but there was something about it that seemed to catch his eye.

"Look first to yourself..."

He cautiously lifted the key off of its pedestal.

At first, nothing happened, but then all of the Fireworms fled away in fright. Then the floor trembled, and fell out from underneath them. Hiccup and Toothless fell into what appeared to be a bottomless pit.

Tremors rocked the cavern, even as Astrid and Snivels ran to the edge of the abyss and screamed Hiccup's name, futilely reaching out as if to try and help him. But the tremors persisted, and continued to worsen until rocks started falling from above. The cave was collapsing.

"We can't leave him!" shouted Astrid, grabbing Blaze's arm as the Blaziken mounted Wavern.

"If we stay, we'll all be trapped or crushed to death," Snivels said regretfully. "There won't be anyone to help Hiccup!"

Mouth tightening uncomfortably, Astrid realized the Servine was right. Although she didn't like it, she knew she didn't have any choice in the matter. She and Stormfly would have to escape with the others.

So that's just what they did.

* * *

The pit seemed to go on forever, but eventually Hiccup and Toothless landed on what turned out to be the bottom of the cave. Soon, the tremors subsided completely, and the boulders ceased to fall. Hiccup could faintly see that the top of the pit had been clogged with rubble.

"We've got to find another way out of here, bud," he murmured to Toothless, painfully sitting up. The Night Fury bounded down from where he had been trying to clamber up the wall and concernedly nudged his human friend.

"I'm fine, Toothless," Hiccup told him. "I just wish there was some more light in here..."

As soon as he said that, there was a flash of light that came down a previously-invisible tunnel. Like the light from a lightning bolt, it vanished instantly, only to come again, several more times. Each time the cave was illuminated, Hiccup was able to see a small, angular depression in the ground before him, surrounded by a circular pattern.

"I wonder..." he said quietly.

Taking out the three keys he had gathered, he fit them all together, and each piece made a clear clicking sound as it was connected. Kneeling down, he slotted the completed key into the small indent in the floor beside him - it was a perfect fit.

The moment the key had been pushed into place, torches lit along the walls and into the tunnel on the other side of the room, allowing Hiccup to proceed easily. But Toothless was reluctant, growling a warning to his rider and shivering his wings uncomfortably.

"We've come this far," Hiccup said with a smile.

Toothless only grumbled to himself and, in a very unenthusiastic fashion, slunk after his friend.

The tunnel that they had to pass through wasn't long, and soon ended at an enormous chamber that utterly dwarfed the one he and his friends had been standing in prior to the tremor. Hiccup, in fact, was perched on a small ledge, while the presumed floor of the cavern was so far below that he couldn't see it - it just vanished into blackness.

In the middle of the near-bottomless pit, there was an island rising up from the abyss. There was also a narrow walkway extending from a small island and right to the entrance of Hiccup's tunnel, giving him the ability to cross.

Still, Hiccup was hesitant to walk down the path with Toothless at his heels. The walkway felt rather precarious, and he could easily imagine it suddenly crumbling to pieces underneath him and dropping him into the pit below. Shivering and determinedly pushing the image out of his head, the young trainer finished crossing the walkway and planted his feet safely on the edge of the island.

Positioned directly in front of him, as if it had been waiting for him that whole time, was a pedestal with a small scroll secured neatly on top of it. Suspecting another trap, Hiccup gingerly plucked it from the column. When nothing happened, he shifted it in his hands and let his eyes move across its length as he took in the message that was written there.

" _This treasure was passed from father to son. I leave it to you, the next worthy one. For only a Hiccup could have gotten this far - from one to the other, be proud of who you are._ "

Hiccup unrolled the scroll and gasped in amazement at what he saw. On the parchment was a sketch of Hamish the First and his son, but there were two major differences between it and the portrait that had been hung in the Great Hall. First, there was an Avalugg standing behind Hamish the First while a Vulpix was held affectionately in the arms of her own master. The second difference was that Hamish the Second wasn't a typical beefy Viking teenager, but a small and scrawny young lad, just like Hiccup.

Hiccup had always wondered why his name was "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third". But now he knew why, as he stared at the signature scrawled beneath the well-detailed work of ark. It was signed, "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Second", labeling the stick-thin boy on the scroll as the second runt born into the Haddock family. Right below the signiture was a Vulpix's footprint and the name, "Vixie", labeling the Pokémon on the scroll that was being cradled in her master's arms.

"Hamish the Second was like me," a disbelieving Hiccup said to Toothless. "He knew only another one of us could find this place."

Toothless growled affectionately and nudged Hiccup with his head, as if saying, _I guess you're something special after all._

His rider patted his head with a grateful smile, and got a friendly lick across the face in return.

It was only then that Hiccup noticed there wasn't just lost family secrets to be found on the island. Piles and piles of gold bars, statues, and more littered the floor, practically covering it in glittering mounds of treasure.

"Look at all this stuff," he gasped. "I guess being a Hiccup isn't such a bad thing after all. It's hard to believe this all belonged to just one - "

There was a noise, and both human and dragon turned to see a Ninetales sitting in front of the biggest pile of treasure. It was wearing a golden necklace with a circular indent, and on the floor beside it were several other accessories, including armbands, necklaces, and even simple things like scarves and bandanas.

Hiccup rolled up the scroll he was holding and stepped toward the Ninetales, who just sat there and watched the duo with a calm expression on her face. He remembered reading something a while back about how Ninetales could live up to a thousand years at most, so even when their masters were no longer breathing they would still live on.

"Vixie?" he called out.

The Ninetales nodded before lowering her head, allowing the necklace to slide off her neck and onto the ground with the other accessories. Round, multicolored stones that were big enough to fit in Hiccup's palm littered the floor, along with four smaller rainbow-colored stones about the size of marbles.

While Hiccup was examining the items, Vixie approached another pile of treasure, this one containing gold pieces and jewels. She dug around in the pile until she found a golden ring studded with a single white diamond. Taking the ring in her mouth, she walked over and dropped it into Hiccup's hand.

It was not the most grandiose thing in the room, but she wasn't going to let him leave without any share of her old master's treasure.

Just then, two pedestals rose up from the floor, one with a hammer, and the other with a feather. "I guess Hamish the Second really liked pedestrals," Hiccup said. Vixie gently pawed the floor, revealing another riddle that was engraved. "And riddles," Hiccup added before reading the rhyme.

" _In between the body and mind, a choice must be made on what you find. At this moment, you must look to yourself, as only one path will give you true wealth._ "

No sooner after Hiccup had finished reading it, the cavern began to collapse. Toothless warbled nervously. "What do I do?!" Hiccup shouted over the collapsing tunnels. Vixie didn't do anything but give him a look that said, _What would you do?_

Hiccup looked at each of his choices. A Viking would fight their way out, but the members of Team Go-Getters were better than that. They knew when they were fighting a battle they couldn't win, whereas a Viking would fight to the death. Quickly making a decision, Hiccup ran towards one of the pedestals just as the entire cavern completely collapsed.

* * *

Astrid desperately dug through the rocks, only to find out that what she dug out was replaced seconds later. But she didn't give up. She did, however, stop for a brief moment to see that no one else was helping her dig. "Why are you guys not doing anything?!"

Blaze sighed. "The chances of us recovering them before nightfall aren't very likely." She suddenly glanced around and asked, "Where's Snivels?"

"Trying to find another possible way to get in the cave!"

They turned to see the Servine walking along the wall, feeling around to see if there was another door somewhere.

Astrid noticed something in his frill. "What is that?" she asked, pointing.

Snivels reached into his frill and pulled out a stray Fireworm that had crawled in there sometime during all of the chaos that had been happening in the cave. "His name is Ziggerastica," he said, "And he's helping me."

Astrid glared at Blaze, gesturing to Snivels.

"But," Snivels continued. "Blaze does have a point. We could be out here for days." He was silenced by Astrid giving him a death glare. "Then again, I guess it doesn't matter," he added quickly, "I mean, we should be fine, you know, just as long as..." His eyes suddenly fell on a large figure sitting on the back of a blue Thunderdrum. "STOICK DOESN'T FIND OUT! STOICK! AAAHH!"

Sure enough, the Viking Chief was there, dismounting Thornado and glaring at the Servine. "How did you follow us here?!" Snivels asked.

No sooner after he said that, the Dragon Riders arrived with their Pokémon partners. "I had some help," Stoick replied.

It was then that the ground started to shake violently. Snivels looked around before pointing at a section of the forest. The ground was sinking, forming a sort of abyss. "Three guesses as to what that is," Snivels said before he took off running in the direction of the rapidly-forming pit. The rest of Team Go-Getters hesitated before running after him.

Of course, Snivels was the first to reach the edge of the pit, and when he did, the earthquake started to die down. He was soon joined by his friends, who were temporarily blinded by the dust that had been thrown into the air. There was the strange sound of something rising, and a clicking noise as it stopped. The dust started to clear, revealing what had occurred.

There was Hiccup and Toothless, both perfectly fine. Standing next to them was a Ninetales, and lying on the ground next to them were the stones and accessories she had been guarding. Hiccup was holding a scroll in one hand, and a feather in the other.

Astrid was the first one to get into the pit. Not caring who was watching, she rushed over and hugged Hiccup tightly. Hiccup dropped the feather before returning the embrace. Astrid suddenly pulled away and punched him in the arm - hard. Hiccup staggered backwards, clutching his bruising appendage. "What was that for?!"

"That's for scaring us!" Astrid said, her voice heavy with annoyance. Then her expression softened, and she grabbed him by the shoulders. "And this is for everything else," she said as she leaned in and kissed him.

Hiccup was surprised at first, but he soon melted into the kiss, dropping the scroll and placing his hands on Astrid's waist.

"Seriously?" Snotlout complained from the edge of the pit, "What did they have to go do that for?!"

Hearing him, Astrid reluctantly broke the kiss and looked up at him. "What? Aren't I allowed to kiss my boyfriend?" Snotlout nearly fainted at what she said.

Snivels then approached his trainer. "So what did you find?" he asked.

Hiccup quickly picked up the scroll he dropped and opened it, showing them the sketch. "This is Hamish the First's real son. His real name was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Second."

Snivels hesitated before grabbing the scroll to get a better look at the sketch. He smiled. "Now we know why you're Hiccup the Third."

"What about the treasure?" Palus asked.

Vixie picked up the necklace that contained the Blazikenite and handed it to Blaze, who immediately put it on. Then the Ninetales took the four, small rainbow-colored stones in her mouth and dropped them into Hiccup's hand.

"What's all that?" Snivels asked.

"The keys to a mysterious power known as Mega Evolution," Kickin' Hawk replied. He pointed to the marble-sized stones. "These Key Stones are used to trigger the process. So far, there's one for each Trainer of Destiny." He then handed one of the Key Stones to Astrid.

"This is the reason you were encouraging us to find the treasure?" Hiccup asked, examining the remaining three Key Stones.

"I was encouraging you to find the REAL treasure," Kickin' Hawk corrected. "And it looks like I'm not the only one who succeeded."

"I'll say," Snivels said. "I mean, we got farther in one day than Stoick did in what, a few weeks?"

"Because we were working together," Amber said.

"And we're a lot smarter than them too," Xylia added.

"But most importantly," Kickin' Hawk said as he polished the Blazikenite on Blaze's necklace, "We're all a family."

Snivels nodded. "And we love our family. Just the way we are." As if to prove his point, Toothless playfully pounced on the Servine, nuzzling him affectionately.

With everyone distracted, Vixie silently slinked away toward the remains of the cavern to continue her duty of protecting the treasure of her beloved master.

* * *

Ziggerastica snuggled into the burning embers in the fireplace. Snivels had decided to bring him home, and had placed him in the fireplace so the dragon could absorb the heat.

But the even bigger change was the portrait. Bucket had made a new one, with Hiccup being portrayed as his usual, scrawny self, but it was nothing compared to the one that Kickin' Hawk had hired a Smeargle to paint. The portrait portrayed all of Team Go-Getters, including the dragons, standing side-by-side, with Hiccup and Astrid in the middle.

Their entire family.

That was definitely the greatest treasure of all.

Hiccup stood in the middle of the room, staring at the portrait that had been hung over the fireplace. He smiled as he remembered the adventures that they had shared together. His thoughts drifted to the ring, and he reached inside his pocket and traced the edge of the ring with his finger. Maybe someday he'd have the courage to ask Astrid to marry him.

Someday...

* * *

 _I spent most of my life trying to prove I was special. That I could be a hero._

 _As it turns out...I already was._

* * *

 **Yes! The chapter's finally done! I'd like to thank all of those who read this story, because it's nice to know that there are people who enjoy it! Feel free to leave me a review or two!**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Dragon Flower

 **Not really one of my favorite episodes of the series, but I'm sure I can improve this version with my little twists.**

* * *

 _Berk is a small island in the middle of nowhere. So when the Vikings get a taste of something new, they tend to go all little...overboard._

 _Unfortunately, new isn't always good._

* * *

The entirety of Team Go-Getters were heading to the docks in the early morning, and for a good reason. A trading ship was pulling up, and everyone on Berk was being drawn to it like a Dustox to a flame. Team Go-Getters was able to reach the docks just as the ship anchored.

Johann was Berk's main source of contact with the outside world. The friendly foreigner was well liked by all the tribes, and provided them with all kinds of interesting objects from his adventurous travels. He also provided a bit of excitement whenever he came to the otherwise boring island of Berk (well, boring except for its new dragon inhabitants).

Snivels was the only one of the group who did not look pleased when the foreign trader put down a gangplank and propped it up on the side of his ship, allowing his customers to climb up onto the ship.

"Ah, Berk!" he exclaimed. "My favorite of all the islands I travel to. Oh, the things I've seen, the people I've met! I'd need a week to tell you everything, but avast, we have limited time to conduct our business together." He then cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to the entire island, "Whatever it is you're looking for, I can assure you that you'll find it here!"

With that, Team Go-Getters boarded the ship and began to browse, looking over the merchandise Johann had on display. Snivels's eyes browsed the ship, and he immediately noticed that there was a Chatot, perched happily upon the ship's rudder. "Hello!" the Pokémon squawked.

"I've got food of all sorts!" announced Johann cheerfully. "Spices, exotic animals, works of art, and jewelry! Not to mention knowledge." The volume of his voice dropped by several points when he found Snivels scanning the many items. "Finding anything interesting, Mr. Servine?"

"My name is Snivels," the Servine said through gritted teeth. "And I don't suppose you have any dragons on board this ship? Because I'd be happy to buy them off of you."

Johann laughed. "Sorry, but if there were any dragons on this ship, I'd be climbing up the mast like a Mankey!"

"You'll eat those words sooner or later," Snivels mumbled to himself as he continued to browse.

Hiccup overheard their exchange, his eyebrows shooting up in interest before he spotted something slightly more intriguing. Sitting innocently on a crowded table was a clay bottle that easily fit into the palm of his hand, which was really saying something since there weren't too many things on the island that weren't Viking-sized.

Johann saw him pick up the bottle and bustled over to him. "That's pure squid ink, Hiccup," he exclaimed. "Wrestled from the colossal kraken of the northern waters!"

"I can pay for it," Kickin' Hawk said, holding up a golden orb about the size of an orange.

"Is that a Nugget, by any chance?" Johann asked, eagerly. A little too eagerly.

"You can bet a dragon's life on that," Kickin' Hawk replied, handing him the Nugget.

The trader slowly took the orb of gold. "That's an...interesting choice of words, Mr...?"

"Call me Kickin' Hawk," said the Hawlucha, somewhat reluctantly.

"Johann!"

Everyone on the boat heard the hostile voice, and none were very happy about it. Mildew, of course. Which was odd, since he never came down from his cabbage farm when Johann was in port.

"Did you get what I want?" he demanded from the trader.

"Always right to the point with you, Mildew," laughed Johann, not put off in the least. "I assume you've brought my cabbage?"

Mildew pointed to a sack full of the foul vegetables, and, satisfied, Johann showed him in the direction of a few large baskets. "Send someone to deliver to my house," Mildew grumbled, then stalked off again.

There was a sound of several sighs in relief as the old man stalked away. "I thought Stoick said he'd take care of him," Blaze complained.

"I'm guessing that by that you don't mean making him clean out the chicken coops with nothing but a spoon," Snivels said. Something tapped his shoulder, and he turned to get a full view of Eldritch unzipping his mouth and smiling. Snivels shuddered at the Banette's creepy grin.

Toothless roared at the Banette, but also startling Hiccup, causing him to drop the bottle of squid ink. The bottle landed on the ship's deck, breaking on contact.

Hiccup's attention was on the smashed bottle of ink, with Toothless warbling an apology. "Sorry, but that was my last one," Johann said to Hiccup with regret, "Tell you what, I'll find that kraken again and wrestle you another bottle, free of charge."

"Try telling that to the Octillery you harvest from," Kickin' Hawk said knowingly.

As the members of Team Go-Getters left the boat, Snivels flashed a glare back at Mildew and Johann.

* * *

Trader Johann had left yesterday afternoon, and Team Go-Getters was long overdue for training, after all. But now, as Hiccup strode through the gate, he caught sight of Snivels in the middle of the arena, sitting on a wooden crate.

"You know, it's nice to actually get some new things every now and then," said the Servine, not caring about the amount of stares he was getting.

"Why? What did you get?" Hiccup asked.

"I didn't find anything worth my time on the deck of the ship," Snivels answered. "So I took a look below." He got up off of the crate. "That's where I found these." He pointed into the box, where a single blue egg lay quietly, covered in a thin layer of liquid to keep itself moisturized.

"Is that a dragon egg?" inquired Hiccup, thoroughly stunned.

Snivels nodded. "Yep."

"I thought Johann said he didn't have any dragons on his ship," said Astrid. It was easy to hear the suspicion she carried in her voice.

Snivels pulled himself back onto the crate and resumed his position on top of the egg. "Well, granted, I wasn't really that specific." He didn't get the chance to say anything else before Toothless suddenly fired a plasma blast that was heading in the Servine's direction.

Snivels barely got out of the way in time to avoid the rogue ball of blue fire. "Didn't your parents ever teach you to cover your mouth when you sneeze?"

In response to the Servine's words, Toothless lowered his head to the ground and placed his paws over his mouth. A minute later, he sneezed again, and the blast of fire that was meant to follow was left without any quick exit. After a few seconds of silence, there was a loud boom as the plasma exploded.

For a moment, Hiccup was afraid that poor Toothless had blown up his own head. Fortunately, the Night Fury was fine, unless you took account of the amount of smoke that was billowing out of his bright red and badly burnt maw and gums while he moaned in pain and embarrassment.

"On second thought," said a disturbed Snivels, "Don't cover your mouth next time."

The dragon egg the Servine had been sitting on started to wobble, and Snivels quickly got up off the box he was sitting on. The egg split open, revealing a blue-green dragonet with a long neck and a large belly area. The baby stumbled out of the nest and into the open arms of the Servine.

"A Scauldron," Snivels muttered in awe. He patted the dragonet on his little head. "So, you're going to need a Scauldron name." He paused to think before offering, "How about Geyser?" He smiled when the dragonet gave a pleased chirp in response.

The dragonet was cute, but Hiccup paid more mind to Toothless than Geyser. The Night Fury fidgeted before he let loose another sneeze, leaving a noticeable scorch mark on the arena wall.

 _Maybe it's just a little cold,_ thought Hiccup. _But something seems off_ _._

* * *

Later that day, things did not get very much better. In fact, it got much worse.

Both Toothless and Stormfly looked like they'd been used as stepping stones by the Red Death. Each sneeze was accompanied by a plasma blast from Toothless and a flurry of spines from Stormfly. The poor dragons were so weak, they could barely even lift their own heads.

Snivels curled up in the middle of the room, wearing a blanket around his shoulders and looking very much like a Viking that had just woken up after a whole night of downing every drop of mead in the village. "Could someone light the fireplace?" he asked, shivering.

"It's already lit," Hiccup said, his voice etched in concern. "Are you feeling okay, Snivels?"

"No," Snivels replied, "My skin itches, my tail feels like it's gonna fall off at any moment, and I think I'm gonna..." he cut himself off by releasing a large sneeze. "Never mind," the Servine groaned.

Amber rushed over to Snivels. "Are you okay, Snivsie?"

"I've felt better," Snivels answered with a groan.

Kickin' Hawk approached the ailing Servine. "Pokémon don't usually get sick," he said, "Not without spreading some of it to others, anyway."

"Then what's wrong with Snivels?" Hiccup asked.

"Probably an allergic reaction," Kickin' Hawk replied, reasonably. He turned to Toothless and Stormfly, who were lying by the fire. "The same can probably be said for them, as well."

"To what?" Hiccup asked.

"Johann was just here," Amber mused. "Maybe it's something that came from his traveling trading post?"

Snivels stood up, and balanced himself against the wall. "There are a lot of new things on the island," he said, "We'll need to get rid of everything, or else it's just going to keep getting worse." As if to demonstrate his point, he let out another sneeze.

Well, if throwing away their newly-obtained merchandise away would help Snivels and the dragons feel better, then that's what they had to do.

* * *

In the middle of the woods, in a rather barren spot where not many trees grew, there was a pit. And it was in this pit that the entire island population of Berk turned up that afternoon to throw their new items away, the better to keep them away from Snivels and the dragons. Although they were quite disappointed, the members of Team Go-Getters loved their ailing companions enough to do whatever it took to help them.

Only a few hours had progressed since they first noticed the sickness, but it seemed to be spreading. On their way to the forest, Hiccup and the rest of Team Go-Getters had seen more than a few dragons that had been proverbially brought to their knees by the terrible allergy. Nadders, Zipplebacks, Nightmares, and even the already slow and bumbling Gronckles were lying all around the island, helpless as their bodies tried to fight off the crippling illness.

That was why Team Go-Getters needed to act fast. They couldn't afford for things to get any worse than they were.

"I know this is hard, guys," Hiccup assured his friends, "But we're doing the right thing. This will help all of the dragons." A sneeze from a certain Servine prompted him to add, "Snivels, too."

Little did he know how much he was going to be proven wrong when the sun came up the following day.

* * *

Snivels woke up the next morning with a headache. He felt a lot worse than he did the day before, but he could still stand up and walk. He slowly trudged down the stairs to get something to eat. He heard a groan outside, and opened the door to see his pack lying on the ground, along with Torch and his family.

Snivels's eyes opened a little wider. They hadn't been sick the day before, so whatever it was that was making them sick had not been dumped in the pit. His stomach itched, and he reached to scratch it. He looked down at himself and noticed a large, ugly, red rash on his cream-colored stomach. Despite his lack of energy, he screamed.

Minutes later, Hiccup and the rest of Team Go-Getters burst outside to see Snivels scratching his back vigorously against the outside wall of their house. "It's getting worse!" Snivels screamed as he continued with his efforts to relieve the painful itching.

Blaze sighed, "This is definitely not good."

* * *

 **Well, I tried. I am aware that I left out some stuff, but to be honest, I was mostly thinking about getting the chapter finished. Leave me your regards in a review, if you want.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: To Heal Sick Dragons

 **Just one more chapter to go before one of the hardest missions Team Go-Getters will ever have. At least, I think it's going to be one of their hardest missions.**

* * *

Normally Snivels wouldn't get too close to the fireplace, but he was too weak to complain. His sickness seemed to get worse by the minute, as the rashes as spread to nearly every part of his body, his eyes were swollen and bloodshot, and, worst of all, his leaves were turning an unhealthy shade of brown. There was a tiny whimper, and he gazed into the flames in the fireplace. He could just catch a glimpse of Ziggerastica curled weakly among the burning wood.

Hiccup felt just as sick as his companion. _What can I do?_ he thought, but no ideas sprang to his mind. Sighing, he started to pace back and forth across the room. "There's gotta be something we missed..."

His only response was a nasty cough from Snivels, who curled up into a little ball to trap in heat. "I can't take much more of this." It took Snivels a minute to realize that the raspy, dry voice was his own. He sighed. He never thought that he could hate the sound of his own voice.

The front door creaked open, and Geyser waddled inside with energy to spare. Hiccup watched the little dragonet with wide eyes. Every single dragon on the island had gotten sick, so how come the baby Scauldron wasn't?

Geyser had just come home from munching on his new favorite snack, and he wanted to share it with this odd group that had become his adopted family. He noticed a weak Snivels by the fire and padded over to him. The Scauldron dragonet nuzzled the Servine gently, earning him a weak smile. Geyser then started bouncing up and down in excitement, chirping and warbling and whatnot. Snivels listened to the dragonet's babbling, his eyes opening a bit wider.

"He's found something."

* * *

An overly eager Geyser led the team to the village plaza. He tried to give them a proud prance, but it only succeeded in making him look like a dancing ball of water.

Snivels had gotten too weak to walk on his own, and was being carried by a worried Hiccup. Snivels shivered before scratching one of his rashes.

Astrid, who was walking beside Hiccup, laid a hand on his shoulder and said reassuringly, "We'll find a way to cure him."

Hiccup sighed. "I wish I could be that sure." Just then, his eyes and ears were drawn to a sudden noise ahead of them.

Geyser was sniffing and nibbling at a cluster of bushes decorated with blue flowers. Calling for his friends to follow him, Hiccup led them over to investigate the strange plant, whose leaves were broad and whose flowers were blue and purple-rimmed. Besides being a distinctive color, each flower's petals numbered five in total.

"Does anyone recall seeing this flower here before?" asked Hiccup. He set Snivels down on the ground before picking one of the flowers and holding it up for all to see.

Snivels weakly stood up to get a better look. He let out a noise that sounded like a combination of a scream and a groan. "I should have known," he uttered out, despite his aching throat. "Blue Oleanders."

Hiccup gave the Servine and inquisitive look and questioned, "Do you know anything specific about it?"

"They're poisonous to reptiles," Snivels barely managed to answer. "Which, of course, means poisonous to dragons."

As bad as that was, it still didn't explain why the Servine was looking so ill. If the flower affected Pokémon as well, then every reptile-based Pokémon on the island would have gotten sick, not just one.

"Does it affect Pokémon, too?" Hiccup asked.

As if on cue, Snivels descended into a fit of coughing and sneezing and vigorously scratching at his bright red rashes. "Yes and no," he wheezed out. "I'm allergic to Blue Oleander pollen. It's among the most common allergies for Pokémon, next to nuts and something those Vikings use in their beard tonic." Then he suddenly started breathing more shallowly, his eyes started to bug out of his head and he grasped at his throat. It looked like he was being choked by an invisible force.

"I...I c...can't...breathe!"

That sent everyone into a panic. Difficulty breathing was among the most life-threatening allergic reactions, and they usually indicated a very severe allergy. Chances were, the reaction had been triggered due to Snivels being in much closer proximity to the source of the allergen.

Blaze managed to break through the panic and scoop Snivels up in her arms, sprinting away to get him some medical help.

"Three guesses as to who's responsible for this," Astrid said.

Hiccup said nothing, he was too busy watching Blaze leave with Snivels, concern etched onto his face.

Kickin' Hawk folded his arms across his chest. "I think we all know."

* * *

Hiccup, Astrid, and a good portion of the team trekked all the way up the mountain to where Mildew's cabbage farm was situated. Upon knocking and entering, they found him and Eldritch sulking over their foul-smelling dinner while Fungus scuttled around restlessly.

After they interrogated the old hermit, however, he became defensive. "So what if I planted a few flowers? The town square's never looked better. I was merely trying to spread cheer and happiness!"

Astrid glared at him and demanded, "Since when do you care about happiness?"

"Those flowers are poisonous to the dragons and you know it," Hiccup accused him angrily.

"I had no inkling that those flowers had special properties," Mildew lied. "Now it's no secret that I'm not a friend of the dragons, but on my life, I was not trying to harm them."

"All of the dragons on this island are gravely ill because of those flowers," Kickin' Hawk told him, sternly. "Snivels - a Pokémon prince - is dying alongside them."

Mildew looked away sadly. "I see..." he murmured.

"You bought those flowers from Johann," said Hiccup. "You planted them near the plaza knowing it was only a matter of time before the dragons were gone."

"You have no proof that I did it," the old hermit argued.

They hated to admit he was right. Without solid proof, there was no good reason to continue the conflict.

Besides, they had more pressing matters to deal with.

"Let's go," Hiccup sighed.

Together, they exited the small dwelling, closing the door behind them and leaving a smugly satisfied Mildew.

"Oh, the poor, poor dragons," he chuckled. "And this time, that dratted Servine can't mess anything up! I think we're in the clear, boys."

Little did he know...

* * *

The team rendezvoused in the plaza. And they were in for quite the surprise, as they found that Geyser had gone straight to the Blue Oleander bushes and started feeding on the flowers without suffering from any negative side effects.

About that time, a mostly recovered Snivels, slinked over. "I remember now," he said, his voice much less dry and raspy,. "Scauldrons feed on Blue Oleanders to supply their venom."

"Can it be used as a cure?" Hiccup asked hopefully.

"For the dragons, yes," Kickin' Hawk said. "But to make sure Snivels doesn't end up suffering any further, we best get rid of what he's allergic to." He looked at the bushes, where the baby Scauldron was now taking a nap.

"Everyone grab as many flowers as you can," said Hiccup, "We'll use them as bait to lure out an adult Scauldron."

"Can't we just use Geyser?" Amber asked.

Snivels shook his head. "He's far too young to be producing any venom."

The team wasted no time heading to the bushes and quickly gathering all of the flowers that were left. Except for Snivels, who strayed a good distance away.

Not bothering to wait for Hiccup's next order, Amber fired a Flamethrower on the bushes, shriveling them up into ashes before stomping the ground until she was absolutely certain that there wasn't even a tiny sprout that remained.

"Where's Blaze?" asked Astrid.

Indeed, the Blaziken was absent. Why hadn't she returned from taking Snivels to the healers?

"She had a complication," Snivels said bluntly, looking slightly embarrassed.

Now Astrid was worried. Doing her best to hide it, she forced out, "What sort of complication?"

The Servine looked around nervously before offering an anxious half-smile. "Funny story," he started, "Blaze went into labor on the way to the healers." He took a few steps back, bracing himself for whatever the female trainer might throw at him.

"She's laying her eggs?" she asked, in a surprisingly calm demeanor. "Right now?"

Snivels nodded warily.

Stuttering uncharacteristically, Astrid turned to her boyfriend. "Okay, what's the plan?"

Instead of answering her directly, Hiccup turned around and said, strong with determination, "Team, get a boat ready. We need to get the cure. Kickin' Hawk," he added to the Hawlucha, "You stay here with Blaze in case she needs help."

The Wrestling Pokémon gave him a salute before making a beeline for the healers.

Hiccup then directed to the others, "Let's go find ourselves a Scauldron."

* * *

Mildew grumbled from his place tied to the mast of a boat that the team was borrowing. Fish and Blue Oleander flowers littered the deck as they sailed alone in the big, silent ocean.

As for Snivels, he had started to recover since Blaze had gotten him treatment from the healer, which involved a concoction of allergy medicine for him to swallow and some ointment to help with the rashes. He watched with unrivaled glee and satisfaction as the sources of his allergic reaction were being periodically tossed in the ocean water along with some fish to draw in a Scauldron.

"We've been out here for two hours," Palus complained.

"Complaining isn't going to help, Palus," Astrid said in response to the Marshtomp's complaints.

"If it did, we'd have gotten the cure by now," Xylia pointed out.

Snivels sighed, "At least you guys don't feel like you just got clobbered by a Viking."

It was about that time when they noticed a dark shadow under the water heading for the boat. "Let's hope it's what we're looking for," Kickin' Hawk muttered as the shadow got closer. The fish and flowers were suddenly pulled under the surface of the water, most likely being gobbled up by whatever was coming. A green figure suddenly erupted from the water, spraying salt water everywhere. A long serpentine neck held up a thin head with large nostrils and a huge mouth.

An adult Scauldron.

And it was mad.

"I don't like the looks of this," Palus whimpered. He wasn't the only one who was frightened. Even the hard-to-scare Astrid was wide-eyed at the sight of the large sea dragon.

Snivels, who was feeling almost like his usual self, stood up and spoke to the Scauldron in a pattern of growls and grunts. The Scauldron growled and hissed back. "He said that we're in his territory, and that we need to get out before we're blasted with his water," Snivels translated.

"Did you tell him that we need his venom?" Hiccup asked.

"I did," Snivels said, "And apparently the only thing he's thinking about is getting us out of here."

No sooner after he had said that, the Scauldron roared before rearing his head up.

The ship was very nearly thrown into the air when the sea dragon tackled it. A portion of the side snapped and splintered apart from the force of the blow, and the Scauldron dove back down under the water.

"We're gonna need a bigger boat," Hiccup said as he inspected the damage.

"Right now, I'd worry about the dragon," Astrid said.

A strong blast of water hit the mast, barely missing the group. The entirety of Team Go-Getters turned just in time to a see an angry Kingdra dive under the water. Now they had to deal with two angry water dragons.

Snivels was the first to take action. "You guys get the venom," he said, "I'll distract the Kingdra."

As if on cue, both the Scauldron and the Kingdra surfaced. The Kingdra readied a Dragon Pulse, the blast heading straight for Snivels. The Servine easily dodged the attack.

The Scauldron lunged forward, colliding with the boat, causing it to rock violently. Thinking quickly, Snivels grabbed some fish and threw them across the ship's deck. They caught the Scauldron's attention, and it bent down to eat them. The next thing it knew, the Scauldron was being pinned down by the other Pokémon. It thrashed violently, but the team held fast.

"Wedge its mouth!" called one of the Pokémon. Hiccup wasn't sure who, but there wasn't time to debate.

While the other Pokémon tried to lead the Scauldron to the mast to wedge its mouth open, Snivels continued to battle with the Kingdra. The Dragon Pokémon fired back-to-back Hydro Pumps and Dragon Pulses, but the Servine was able to dodge them all. He jumped up, bouncing off the mast and swinging his tail, hitting the Kingdra hard in the head with Leaf Blade.

It was about then that Hiccup grabbed a bucket with a lid to obtain the Scauldron's venom. But the dragon didn't give up so easily. With its mouth wedged open by the mast, steam began to hiss out of its open maw. Hiccup noticed this, and hid behind the mast just before the Scauldron released a strong blast of scalding water.

The Scauldron broke free of the grasps of the Pokémon, who immediately sprang into action.

Xylia used Quick Attack to zip across the boat while fending the angry dragon off with Leaf Blade and Brick Break.

Palus used Ice Beam to freeze the dragon's limbs to the deck before using Hydro Pump and Mud Shot to fend off its thrashing tail.

Ryu followed Xylia by using Extreme Speed and Dragon Rage.

Wavern, who was perched on top of the mast, hit the Scauldron with Boomburst and Dragon Pulse.

Amber unleashed as strong a Flamethrower as she could muster.

Dragonfly tried to use Bite on the Scauldron's tail, but the dragon slapped the small Trapinch away like a tiny parasite. Dragonfly slammed into the side of the boat, and was surrounded in blue light. Everyone's eyes were on Dragonfly, even the Scauldron's. The light was nearly blinding, but the rest of the members of Team Go-Getters were able to make out the image of Dragonfly shifting and changing.

Evolving.

The light then subsided to reveal a dragonfly-like Pokémon with big green eyes and four green, rhombus-shaped wings with black edges.

A Vibrava.

Dragonfly didn't hesitate to start flapping her new wings, and was airborne in just seconds. She lifted above the Scauldron's head and fired a powerful Dragon Breath attack. The Scauldron screeched and banged its head against the mast, loosening the rope that held Mildew to the structure.

Landing on the deck, the old man scrambled away, but the Scauldron noticed a single Blue Oleander in his belt. Licking its lips, the dragon lunged forward and chomped down on the flower - and Mildew's rear end. The old man's screams of pain were slightly muffled by the gag, and he dropped to the deck as the Scauldron let go. The Scauldron gave one last grunt before sliding off the boat and into the water. The dragon them swam off with Kingdra following close behind.

The silence was broken by Astrid. "We didn't get the venom," she sighed.

There was a groan, and everyone turned to look at a crumpled Mildew. "Or maybe we did," Hiccup muttered.

"Get it out of me!" shrieked the writhing old man.

Snivels folded his arms across his chest, his eyes glaring but his mouth turned up in an amused smile. "Oh, we will."

* * *

The members of Team Go-Getters stood outside the Viking forge. Kickin' Hawk was inside, looking for the tool that would extract the venom from a certain cranky old Viking. Snivels had almost completely recovered from his allergy, although his eyes were still a little bloodshot.

A quavering voice suddenly came up from inside the forge. "Isn't there something a bit smaller you can use?"

"Yes, but don't think I have enough time to go look for it," was Kickin' Hawk's smug reply.

There were a few precious moments of silence before Mildew's screams pierced the air like a sword made of fire.

"That's the sound of the dragons getting better," Astrid muttered.

Hiccup winced, as did many of the other members of Team Go-Getters. Dragonfly, however, wasn't paying attention. She was looking at and testing out her new wings. Spike wasn't paying attention either. He had stayed behind with the dragons, as per Hiccup and Kickin' Hawk's requests, and was back at home with Toothless.

Minutes later, Kickin' Hawk emerged with a grim look on his face. He was holding a cup full of a dark liquid. He sighed. "That is one of the many reasons why I hate those metal-heads." He handed the cup to Hiccup. "I'm going to go take a nap," he said, walking off.

Hiccup hesitantly handed Snivels the cup of venom. "Think you can cure the dragons?" he asked.

Snivels yelled out, "GOT THE CURE!" before zipping off in the direction of the home of Team Go-Getters, surprising everyone greatly.

There was a pregnant pause before Amber spoke up. "If we hadn't been able to get the cure soon, I was going to scream."

* * *

That crazy adventure had happened the day before. The dragons had all recovered thanks to Team Go-Getters, but they still needed to rest in order to regain their full strength. Geyser had been arranged to live in a pond near the home, until the day he got too big to swim around in it.

Hiccup was upstairs in their room, writing and drawing in the Book of Dragons and the Pokédex, adding the recently-unknown stats and data about the Scauldron and Kingdra.

"Feeling any better, Snivels?" Hiccup asked. There was no response. He looked over his shoulder. "Snivels?"

The Servine was curled up in the corner with Lockheed, who had also recovered from the poison. The two were fast asleep, Snivels snoring lightly.

Hiccup shrugged. "Never mind."

In another part of the room, Blaze was smiling down happily at the straw nest she made, where the five little eggs she'd laid while the rest of the team was out at sea were sitting comfortably. Two of them comprised of teal, orange, red, and white markings, reminiscent of Hawlucha. The remaining three were orange with yellow tops and a couple yellow spots, a sign that they would hatch into Torchic. The expectant mother gazed at the slumbering Snivels and asked, "What do you think he's dreaming?"

"Maybe he dreams about getting stronger and evolving," Astrid suggested.

"Sometimes I dream about that, too," Amber admitted.

Hearing their comments, Hiccup smiled. Things were finally back to normal.

* * *

 _A deadly flower, a venomous sea dragon, and Mildew's butt. Three things I never thought I'd have to deal with in the same day._

 _But I'll do anything for my family._

* * *

 **Just to not cause confusion, the Book of Pokémon was renamed the Pokédex, in case anyone forgot. It's the earliest version, so it's NOT ELECTRONIC!**

 **Now we know what kinds of moves the "secondary" Pokémon can use, and Dragonfly has evolved.**

 **Be patient, fellow readers, for soon the third Trainer of Destiny will arrive. And Hiccup will be trying to give the ring to Astrid starting the next chapter.**

 **REVIEW PLEASE!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Heather Report

 **Now for the big one!**

* * *

A young Snivy sat on top of a barrel just outside a house. He had been told by his trainer to wait there while she ran an errand for her parents. But that was two weeks ago. His trainer had not yet returned, and he had never left that spot, despite the fact that he had been eating poorly, and had gotten very little sleep. A small part of him felt that she was never coming back. But he couldn't give up. He needed to stay home.

But maybe the home he was looking for wasn't here.

A few more days went by, and there was still no sign of the Snivy's trainer. By that time, the young Grass Snake Pokémon could bear it no longer. His eyes flashing with anger and betrayal, the Snivy jumped off of the barrel and ran away from the house. He didn't stop running until he had reached the forest. Memories of his trainer flashed through his mind as he ran. Meeting her for the first time, battling other Pokémon together, teaching him how to read and write, and how he had loyally stayed on that barrel waiting for her to come back for him. He then collapsed to the ground, his eyes filling to the brim with tears.

Not long after the Snivy left, a preteen girl and her parents soon approached the house. The girl's arm was in a sling, she had gotten injured while running the errand, and had to stay at the healer's while she recovered. As soon as her home came into view, the girl took off running. She had been away for much longer than she had meant to. "I'm here, Snivels!" she called out as she reached the house. She stopped when she reached the front door.

"I'M HERE!"

But Snivels wasn't there.

Panicking, the girl searched throughout the entire house several times, but found no sign of her partner Pokémon. The girl fell to her knees and started sobbing.

"I'm so sorry!"

* * *

 _Trust is everything to a Go-Getter. Without a friend you can trust, your life seems meaningless. But when you get the chance to prove your own trustworthiness, you feel...good._

 _Snivels always seems to know when he can trust someone and when he can't._

 _Even still, trust is something that can be easily broken._

* * *

Verne flapped his wings breathlessly. He had been following Valiona the Latias and Theralion the Latinos for many days, and was just about tired out. He was sure he was going to collapse from exhaustion if they didn't rest soon.

"Hold on, friend," Theralion called back to the tired Noivern. "We are almost there. I can see the caves."

" _What caves?_ " Verne asked.

"The Ice Caves," Valiona replied.

Soon, Verne found himself in what appeared to be a cold wasteland. " _What exactly are we going to find_ _there?_ " Verne asked.

"The Guardian of Life," Theralion replied. "Our friend, Obera the Xerneas."

Verne gave the Latios a look of confusion before shrugging his wings. It wasn't long before they reached the large entrance to a humongous cave of ice.

Theralion smiled. "We're here."

* * *

The Pokémon Go-Getters were training at the Academy. They had arrived early to train themselves for battle. Spike was training with Dragonfly and Ryu, who were helping him work on improving his attacks.

Xylia and Palus were having a practice battle with each other, exchanging attacks and blocking the opposing moves thrown at them. Palus was able to block Xylia's Quick Attack, but he was hit hard with her Brick Break. Luckily he was able to fight back by using Ice Beam. Despite the move being a direct hit, however, Xylia was still able to keep going.

Dragonfly had decided to train Spike to help him with improving his moves. Since the baby Druddigon only knew the moves Scratch and Leer, there was a lot of doubt that he would last long in a real battle with other Pokémon. It was Spike's dream to compete in and win battles, and he had been practicing a powerful move that could eliminate almost any Pokémon on the battlefield: Draco Meteor. He was also trying to learn to use moves to battle Pokémon with type advantages with, like Flamethrower or Ice Beam. Dragonfly was also eager to learn the move Flamethrower, though she was more mature about it than Spike.

Blaze and Snivels were also training, and in a similar manner as Xylia and Palus. But they would occasionally cover each other's backs, obviously practicing for battling against multiple opponents.

Kickin' Hawk was watching from afar. It hadn't been long since he and Blaze became mates, and he was becoming very protective of her.

There was a loud screeching sound, and Snivels looked up into the sky. "The trainers are back," he said. Sure enough, Hiccup and Astrid were having a race with their dragons.

"Is it me, or is Toothless getting slower?" Amber asked as she watched the two Go-Getters race.

"Toothless isn't getting slower," Xylia replied, "Stormfly is getting faster."

"Well, they can't get any slower," Snivels said. No sooner after he spoke, the dragons and their riders darted into the Academy at a high speed, sending dust and scrap paper flying. "I take it back," Snivels muttered, "Slower is fine."

Toothless and Stormfly landed in the middle of the arena, their riders dismounting them. "Looks like you guys each set a new course record," Snivels said as he watched Tito do a few tough math problems on a piece of paper before writing down the results.

"Definitely new records for both," the Helioptile confirmed.

Hiccup was astounded at the news. He turned to Astrid. "Anything you'd like to share?" he asked.

Astrid shook her head. "All I'm saying is that I've been experimenting with what Stormfly eats," she said, "Apparently it's working."

It was about then that Fishlegs and the twins arrived with their dragons and Pokémon. Fishlegs was reading the Book of Dragons while the twins were fighting (as usual) on top of Barf and Belch's heads. Snivels sighed. "Well, it was fun while it lasted," he said.

"Tell me about it," Kicking Hawk said, gradually moving closer to Blaze one small step at a time.

Hiccup turned back to Astrid, only to see that she was cleaning up Ryu's recently-sheded skin off of the floor of the arena. After making sure that no one was looking, Hiccup reached into his pocket and took out the ring that Kickin' Hawk had given him. The Viking teens weren't paying attention, they were too caught up in what they themselves were doing. This could be the perfect time for him to talk to Astrid, and maybe give her the ring. He sighed.

 _Arceus, give me strength._

He walked over to Astrid, who had proceeded to discard the skin that her Dratini had shed. They always kept an empty barrel in the arena for such purposes, and it was emptied out every week. Hiccup and Snivels had come up with the idea not long ago, and it was already proving its worth.

It didn't take long for Astrid to notice Hiccup. "What's up?" she asked.

At first, Hiccup couldn't speak. His words caught in his throat, but he knew he couldn't give in, not before he had even said a word. He took a deep breath. "Astrid, we've known each other for a long time, and..."

He was interrupted by a loud roar, and Snotlout came flying in on Hookfang. "You are not going to believe what I found!" the Jorgenson boy declared as his dragon landed in the middle of the Academy.

"A severed head?" Tuffnut guessed.

"Our cousin Lars?" Ruffnut asked.

" _Our cousin Lars's_ severed head?!" Tuffnut guessed again in excitement.

"Lars died?" Fishlegs asked, his voice cracking.

" _Sie wie idioten,_ " Snivels muttered under his breath.

Drei nodded. " _Ja, indeed._ "

"Excuse me!" Snotlout declared loudly, "But do you want to see this or not?"

* * *

Snotlout led the other Viking teens and Team Go-Getters to a remote part of the island. Snivels was the first to notice a small boat was shipwrecked on the small piece of land. The mast and sail were folding over most of the boat, covering it in a shadow. The dragons landed on the shore and allowed their riders to dismount them to get a better look at the boat.

"That's definitely something you don't see every day," Snivels said as he approached the wrecked boat.

Snotlout walked past him. "Just remember, I found it, so it's mine."

Snivels rolled his eyes. " _Me gustaría que lo demostrases, gran oaf_."

Ignoring Snivels's Spanish insults for Snotlout, Hiccup looked under the sail. The first thing he noticed was that a Froakie, a Chespin, and a Fennekin were all sitting together. He gestured for them to come out, but the Pokémon shook their heads. Hiccup was confused for a minute before he realized that the Pokémon were sitting next to a young girl, about his age, completely unconscious, with her body and raven-black hair splayed out in the sand. Astrid joined Hiccup, and was surprised to see the unconscious form of the girl. The rest of Team Go-Getters joined them, and Snivels's eyes widened at the sight of the girl.

 _Is it...? No, it can't be!_

Hiccup reached out and touched the girl's hand. There was a soft groan, and the girl sat up. The three Pokémon all crowded around the girl, who hugged them. She soon noticed the entirety of Team Go-Getters staring at her, and retreated into the darkness. "It's okay," Hiccup said quietly, "We're friends."

The Froakie eyed Team Go-Getters before hopping out, and was followed by Fennekin and Chespin. Froakie then held out a cup in front of Palus, who filled it with some water from his Hydro Pump. Froakie then rejoined the girl under the boat, handing her the cup of water. The girl drank the water in large gulps, obviously thirsty.

Toothless, who's view was blocked from the crowding Go-Getters, pushed some of the Pokémon aside to get a better look.

The girl noticed the black dragon, and immediately shrank back into the shadows. Hiccup put his hand on Toothless's snout and gently pushed him back. "It's okay, he won't hurt you."

The girl hesitated before finally crawling out from under the boat, her Pokémon following. The girl's eyes never left the Night Fury, and she stood up slowly, in case the dragon were to attack. Hiccup patted Toothless's muzzle and the Night Fury sat down. "How did you do that?" the girl asked in amazement.

It was at that moment that Snotlout butted in. "That's nothing," he gloated, "Watch this." He turned to Hookfang and Vengeance. "Hey you two, get your lazy butts over here!" Vengeance took one look before promptly flying away, disobedient as always. Hookfang snorted and followed the Salamence. Snotlout chuckled. "Those jokesters. They'll be back." He paused before adding, "Eventually."

He was pushed away by Blaze, who muttered under her breath, "What a kid."

Hiccup took a step towards the girl. "My name's Hiccup," he said.

The girl nodded. "Heather."

Snivels gasped. _It_ is _her!_

Kickin' Hawk looked at the Froakie, who was talking to Fennekin and Chespin. _Finally, the third Trainer of Destiny is here._

Heather approached her three partners before kneeling down to pet them. "This is Ninjark," she said as she patted the Froakie on the head. She then gestured to Fennekin and Chespin. "And these two are Phoxie and Captain."

Astrid shot her a glare. "Seriously? You give your Pokémon hero names?"

Ninjark jumped up so that he was resting on Heather's shoulder. " _Froakie, Kie. Froa, Froakie._ "

Heather sighed. "Yes, I know you all like your names, it's not my fault that not everyone likes the concept."

Hiccup gave her a look of confusion. "You can understand him?" he asked.

Heather shrugged. "Sort of. The trick is get an idea of what he's thinking."

Hiccup took a moment to make sure that Snivels was nearby before gesturing to him. "This is Snivels."

Heather froze at the sound of the Servine's name. _Can it be? Is it him?_ She slowly turned to look at the Servine, who immediately turned away. "Don't look at me like that," he snapped.

Heather's eyes widened. "He talks? He actually talks?"

Astrid stopped herself from scoffing before stating, "The trick is trying to get him to shut up."

Hiccup was more concerned about something else. "Snivels, you don't usually act like this, are you okay?"

Snivels shrugged. "You know I don't always trust people as soon as I meet them," he said.

Hiccup sighed. "Yeah, but you haven't really acted like this ever since..."

"Since the Great War," Snivels finished. "I know."

Deciding to change the subject to a more important topic, Astrid asked, "So, Heather, what happened to you? How'd you crash your ship on Berk?"

Heather's face fell, and her Pokémon cowered in fear and sadness. "My family and I were on our way back to our island," she whispered, "We arrived to find it under attack by pirates." Snivels gave Heather a look of uncertainty. Heather continued, holding her Pokémon close, "They noticed us arrive and captured us. We managed to escape when their backs were turned...but my parents weren't so lucky." Snivels huffed in disbelief. Heather let go of Captain and Phoxie and stood up.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Amber asked.

Heather shook her head, not surprised by the Charmeleon's ability to speak.

"Then maybe you can stay with us," Tito suggested.

Realizing she had no other choice, Heather nodded. She allowed Hiccup to lead her to Toothless, who let her climb on his back.

Snivels glanced back at Heather. He couldn't believe that of all the places she had to turn up, it had to be Berk. Hopefully, she wouldn't be staying for long. He didn't trust her a bit.

Hiccup was about to nudge Toothless when Astrid called to him from Stormfly's back, "Don't forget, we're meeting tomorrow to race!" Hiccup turned to look at her. "Unless you want Stormfly to be the fastest dragon in the book," she added.

Hiccup shook his head, smiling. "Yeah, that's definitely not going to happen." He looked over his shoulder to see Heather hugging Ninjark, Captain, and Phoxie close. "Hold on," Hiccup told her before nudging Toothless. The Night Fury promptly took off into the sky, with the rest of Team Go-Getters following on their dragons.

* * *

By the time Team Go-Getters got back to their home with Heather and her Pokémon, it was nighttime. Astrid and her team of Pokémon stayed outside for some training, leaving Hiccup and his team to show Heather around. Snivels, however, ran to meet the Speed Stingers, who were already asleep, hanging by their tails on a wooden structure that was built to substitute a tree branch.

"It's nice of you to let me stay here," Heather said as Hiccup and Toothless led her upstairs. The Night Fury curled up on his bed, and Heather's Pokémon jumped onto one of the beds, making themselves comfortable. In no time, they were asleep.

"Well, until we can find you a safe place to go, consider Berk your home," Hiccup said. There was a pause before he asked, "Can I get you guys anything?"

Heather shook her head. "No thanks. It's been a long day for us, so we need to get some rest."

Nodding in understanding, Hiccup walked down the stairs, motioning for Toothless to follow him. The Night Fury happily obliged.

Heather waited until the two friends were out of sight before shaking Ninjark awake. Ninjark woke up and turned to Heather. " _Froakie, Froa, Froakie. Kie, Froa, Froakie._ "

Heather sighed. "Yes, I know what the plan is, now remember to be ready to swap the books when it's time."

Ninjark promptly nodded.

Heather then grabbed Ninjark and the two leaped out the nearby window, landing on the ground with barely a sound. They were about to run to the village when Heather noticed Astrid outside feeding Stormfly some chicken. The blonde had figured out weeks ago that chicken had a weird effect on Nadders: it made them fly faster. Hoping they weren't going to be seen, Heather and Ninjark took off running for the Viking village.

Unfortunately for the pair, Astrid spotted them. And she did not like the looks of it.

* * *

Captain and Phoxie woke up hours later to find their trainer and Ninjark gone. Realizing that they slept through the first phase of their plan, they hurried down the stairs. They stopped when they saw Hiccup lying on the floor, wrapped up in a blanket, fast asleep. Phoxie also noticed a shadow from the other side of the front door. Moments later, a baby Bagon, which just happened to be one of Vengeance's offspring from last Snoggletog, squeezed through the gap between the door and the doorway, making his way into the house. Always one to care about younger Pokémon, the little Fennekin hurried down the stairs and sat down in the middle of the room. Captain noticed the two and went to join his friend.

The noise woke up Hiccup, who sat up to see the two Pokémon watching the Bagon. It took him a minute to register what was happening before he joined the two Pokémon. The Bagon had most recently gotten tired of Snotlout and Heat's selfish and snotty personalities and had been encouraged by his father to find a better way of life. Phoxie bounded forward to lick the young Dragon-Type. The Bagon stared at the Fennekin before he tried to Bite her, but Phoxie was able to get away.

Hiccup reached out to the young Bagon. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you." The Bagon looked at him as if he had two heads. Obviously the little Pokémon wasn't sure if Hiccup was telling the truth. He snarled as Hiccup's hand came closer. "It's okay," Hiccup muttered as his hand came into contact with the Bagon.

The Rock Head Pokémon froze as he felt the gentle touch of what he had believed was a selfish human. He wondered how he hadn't noticed the human's gentle tone of voice, which if he thought about it, indicated his compassionate nature. The Bagon shrugged and stepped forward, coming face-to-face with Phoxie. The Bagon bowed his head as a sort of apology. Luckily for him, Phoxie was quick to forgive, and gave him a lick. Bagon's eyes shot open, and he wiped it away when Phoxie wasn't looking. A simple acceptance would have been alright with him. He felt Hiccup petting him once more, but he didn't mind it as much.

The next thing the Bagon knew, he was in a bed, covered by a blanket. _Must have fallen asleep,_ he thought as he poked his head out from under the covers. He saw Phoxie and Captain with a Froakie, and there was a raven-haired girl sleeping beside him. The girl stirred in her sleep, and her eyes cracked open.

"Hey, Vigo."

The Bagon stiffened. _Vigor? Is that my name?_ _Huh, I actually like it._

This was definitely a human he could trust.

Happy with his new name, Vigor rolled over and went back to sleep. Heather patted his head before falling asleep as well.

She and her Pokémon still had some work to do.

* * *

Astrid's suspicious attitude didn't disappear that morning. And it didn't help that Hiccup was late for their meeting.

The rest of Team Go-Getters had arrived at the Academy on schedule, but Hiccup and Toothless were nowhere to be seen. Snivels was sitting in the very far corner of the Academy, with Kickin' Hawk standing about ten feet behind him. "I know why you're mad about Heather," the Hawlucha said.

"I thought you would," Snivels said in a bitter tone.

"Nothing is harder for a Pokémon than realizing that they've been abandoned by their trainer," Kickin' Hawk said, "But don't you think there's more to it than that?"

"She promised to come back, and she didn't," Snivels replied, "Normally, I'm not that harsh, but don't you think that once a trainer is gone for a lot longer than they promised, it means they've abandoned you?"

Kickin' Hawk shook his head. "You wouldn't know," he said.

It was then that Hiccup arrived on Toothless. Heather, Ninjark, Captain, Phoxie, and Vigor were with him, riding behind him in the saddle. The first thing he noticed was Astrid glaring at him. If looks could kill, Hiccup would have dropped dead on the spot. He was confused before he suddenly facepalmed. "Oh right, we were supposed to meet up."

"Awkward," Palus said in a singsong voice. Astrid shot him a death glare. The Marshtomp promptly kept his mouth shut. The minute that Hiccup dismounted Toothless, Astrid grabbed his arm and led him away. As soon as they were outside the Academy, Astrid punched Hiccup in the arm.

"Of all the times you had to forget about us meeting up...!"

"Astrid, I'm sorry," Hiccup said, "I'll try to make it up to you..."

"So what?" Astrid asked, her eyes flashing with anger. "You can hang out with Heather again, when you're supposed to be meeting with me?!"

Hiccup was beginning to panic now. "It was just one time! It won't happen again, honest!"

"How do you expect me to trust you if you just forgot about one of our races?" Astrid asked.

"I don't know," Hiccup said, honestly. "Because that's what you do, I guess."

"Guess again," Astrid said coldly.

Hiccup's eyes widened in horror. She wouldn't go there. Not now. Not Astrid.

"I thought that you were better than all of those other guys, but I was wrong. You _are_ useless. And that's all you've ever been."

What Astrid had just said hit Hiccup like a ton of bricks. Speechless, he could do nothing but watch her walk away. He had worked so hard for her, and he had just lost her. He could almost feel his heart sink down to the pit of his stomach, and he unconsciously reached into his pocket and clutched the ring. He was supposed to give it to her. They were supposed to spend a new life together, as more than friends, as a family.

And he had lost her.

* * *

The usual lessons at the Academy were delayed by Hiccup's heavy heart, so he had no choice but to dismiss everyone early.

Once the Viking teens had left, Hiccup took the ring out of his pocket and looked at it sadly. Heather noticed him and decided to go talk to him. Hiccup noticed her approaching and quickly put the ring back in his pocket. But Heather had already seen it. "Why do you have that ring?" she asked.

Hiccup sighed. "Astrid broke up with me," he said. "I was planning on asking her to marry me, and I blew it. I shouldn't have forgotten about the race this morning. I guess I was too busy trying to help you all out."

Realizing that she was the cause of this, Heather felt guilty. Despite what she had been planning, she hadn't actually meant to interfere with a relationship. Expecially one that had been so serious.

Hiccup let out another sigh. "I really messed up big time," he said.

"I'm sorry," Heather said.

Hiccup just shook his head. "It's not your fault, it's mine. I was only trying to help, but...I guess I got too carried away."

Feeling sorry for her new friend, Heather decided to leave to give him time alone. Ninjark, Phoxie, Captain, and Vigor noticed her leaving and followed her out of the Academy.

Heather had taken a liking to the layout of the Academy, and she knew that at she'd be able to get her hands on the two dragon books soon. But her intentions were far from what one would think. As she left, a single thought passed through her head.

 _Once we swap out the books, they won't know what's coming._

* * *

 **Ouch. Poor Hiccup. I didn't want to do that, but I needed to add a little more conflict. Now Astrid has broken up with Hiccup, and Heather is obviously planning something tricky. But I will tell you that it won't be what you think it is. It will all most likely be explained in the last two parts, so stay tuned. And in the meantime, leave a review.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Heather Makes the Switch

 **Just not to cause confusion, the Book of Dragons is the one about training, while the Dragon Manual is the one about killing.**

* * *

To say that Verne was surprised would be an understatement.

He was absolutely mind-blown.

The cave that Valiona and Theralion had led him to was the entrance to a large icy dome filled with Legendary Pokémon. The Latios approached a large, draconic Pokémon with dark wings. "We need to see Obera."

The Giratina nodded, opening an interdimensional portal, which Theralion and Valiona promptly passed through. Verne hesitated before following them. What he found on the other side was an area inhabited by unimaginable creatures. Creatures with long necks, creatures that could fly, creatures that had sharp claws and teeth, creatures with horns coming out of their heads and spikes out of their backs and tails. " _What are all these things?_ " he asked.

"They are the creatures that time forgot."

Verne turned his head in the direction of the voice to see Xerneas standing a few feet away. " _Are you Obera?_ " he asked.

Xerneas nodded. "Yes, I am Obera, and this is my sanctuary. It is where I keep the creatures of time safe from the harmful effects of extinction. These creatures you see have been saved from a terrible fate. I am the giver of life, and I ensure that these magnificent and beautiful beings are given the chance to live as long as the Earth shall remain in existence."

" _Do you live_ _here?_ " Verne asked.

Obera shook her head. "No, but I do come here often to check on the wellbeing of the creatures being protected."

Verne asked looked around, hoping to find at least one Night Fury. But there were none he could see. " _A_ _re there any Night Furies here?_ _I have come here searching for a possible mate for my friend, Toothless._ "

Obera nodded. "The dragon that I released from this sanctuary years ago," she said. "Whenever I feel a creature is ready to thrive in the wild, I release it from the sanctuary. I did what I had to make sure that Fjord's prophecy was to become true. The Night Fury was destined to meet the leader of Team Go-Getters and show him the truth that lied beyond what they could see. I had led him away from his kind, but it wasn't just for the fate of the archipelago, but fate of the entire world."

" _Do you know where I can find a suitable mate for him?_ " Verne asked.

Obera glanced at him. "You heart is filled with kindness and loyalty," she said, "And for that, I am honored to help you in your quest. There is a female Night Fury that is suitable for Toothless, a childhood friend of his."

" _What is her_ _name?_ " Verne asked.

"Her name is Ebony," Theralion replied.

" _Do you know w_ _here can I find her?_ " Verne asked.

"You must be patient," Obera replied. "For it will take a long while before she will become accustomed to you, Verne. Until you can assure her that she can trust you and your family, she will not leave the safety of this place."

" _I will do whatever it takes to get her to trust me and my family,_ " Verne stated, " _And I shall stay here until I succeed._ " He looked out and watched the other creatures graze upon the plants and feed upon the scraps of meat that Obera had left them.

"This is just a small part of my sanctuary," Obera said. "This is the field where the dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles that live among them reside. I will lead you and your new friends to the Night Furies' cave."

" _How long do you need to keep all these creatures here?_ " Verne asked.

"As long as it may take for the world to be ready for their residence," Obera replied, "What is the point in being free if you are not alive?"

Verne thought for a minute, recalling his past experiences with his friends and Wavern, before suddenly thinking of something he had never thought of before.

" _What's the point in being alive if you are not free?_ "

Astounded by the Noivern's choice of words, Obera realized that Verne was right. All their lives, the members of Team Go-Getters had been through tough times, but they had all managed to pull through and claim their freedom, for they never stopped fighting for what they had believed in. "You speak with true wisdom," Obera said to Verne, "If Fjord could rewrite his prophecy, there is no doubt that you would be a part of it."

* * *

Anyone who passed by the home of Team Go-Getters would think they were being attacked, due to the sounds coming from the bedroom. But there were no villains attacking.

The furniture had been badly damaged by the furious swinging of an axe, and papers had been shredded to pieces.

"Stupid bone-headed idiot!" Astrid shouted as she swung her axe at whatever was nearby. "Trying to fool me into thinking he can be trusted!" Heaving her axe at the wall, she slammed her fists down on a table hard enough to crack it. It had been a long time since she had lost her temper like this, and with all the jealousy, hurt, and betrayal that she felt now, she was like an oncoming storm.

"Wow, I have never seen that before."

Eyes flashing in rage, Astrid turned to see Snivels standing in the entrance to the room, a shocked but calm look on his face. "What are you doing here?" Astrid asked through gritted teeth.

"You need to talk to someone," Snivels said, obviously. "And I happen to be good at talking and listening. At least put some thought into what you're doing, you could hurt someone, especially yourself."

"Would it kill you to leave me alone?" Astrid muttered.

"You can't just walk out on Hiccup just because he made a mistake," Snivels said. "He's had more than enough pressure from that in his life. The least you could do is give him a chance to explain."

Astrid didn't say anything.

Snivels sighed. "Okay, I promised Hiccup that I wouldn't tell you, but there's something you need to know. That one time in the arena, when he tried to talk to you..."

"Snivels," Astrid said suddenly. "For once in your life, would you just be quiet?!"

Snivels froze, his heart skipping a beat as he registered what Astrid had yelled at him. His shoulders slumped, and he turned to leave the room. He had hoped that maybe he could get Astrid and Hiccup back together, but with Astrid upset about Hiccup spending time with Heather, there was no doubt she would refuse to listen. Though it was true Snivels didn't trust Heather either, he knew that Hiccup wouldn't give Astrid up for any other girl on Earth. There had to be some way to convince Astrid that was true.

But for now, Snivels had to go and tell Hiccup about Astrid's rage.

* * *

It had taken Heather a while to find the Dragon Manual. It had been hidden in the Viking forge, and, of course, it was dragons being extremely dangerous and required to be killed on sight page after page. This was what Heather had been looking for. Now all she had to do was find the Book of Dragons. And she knew where she had to look.

The Team Go-Getters bedroom.

But Heather had to wait until Astrid left the room before she could look for the Book of Dragons. She was able to catch a glimpse of the destruction, and Astrid kneeling in the middle of the mess. Realizing that she was the cause of this, Heather's heart went heavy with guilt. Hiccup had told her all about Astrid, and how he'd had feelings for her since the day they met. He loved her more than almost anything in his life, and because of his willingness to help out a friend, he had lost her. Heather quietly left, descending the stairs and heading for the door to leave.

"I never thought I'd see you here."

Heather turned to see Snivels standing in the corner, his back to her. "Do you remember me, by any chance?" he asked.

Heather nodded. "I thought that it was you, but I couldn't be sure."

Snivels shrugged wordlessly.

Heather sighed. "I know what you're thinking," she said. "And I swear, I didn't abandon you. I got in an accident and I had to stay at the healer's for a few weeks. When I got back, you were gone."

Snivels turned his head so he could see her out of the corner of his eye.

"I looked everywhere for you," Heather continued. "I thought that...you were dead." She suddenly dropped the Dragon Manual on the floor and hung her head. "If I had been a better trainer, I would've stopped coming up with so many excuses. I never would have left you there alone if I had been good enough for you." She looked up at her former partner. "Hiccup is your trainer. I couldn't replace him, even if I wanted to. I'm not asking you to trust me, Snivels, but you have to believe me."

Snivels didn't answer. But he could tell that Heather was telling the truth.

Heather picked up the Dragon Manual. "No more excuses," she said, "I need to save my parents, no matter what." "You can't do it alone," Snivels said suddenly, turning to face her fully.

Heather was surprised to see Snivels trusting her so easily. "You're not my trainer," Snivels said. Then he smiled. "But that doesn't mean I can't help you."

Heather smiled back at him, happy to ha regained his trust. "Sarabeth and Alvin ordered me to steal the Book of Dragons for them," she said. "But I have an idea that might work." She leaned in and whispered her plan into Snivels's ear.

"Clever," said the Servine. "It might work. But you're going to need a dragon."

* * *

It took a while for Snivels to round up all of the dragons, and Heather was amazed with all of the different kinds that the members of Team Go-Getters had become acquainted with. She showed the most interest in the Grapple Grounders, so Snivels introduced them to her.

"There's Whiplash and his mate Snappy, their son Basilisk, who prefers the nickname Buck, by the way, and his girlfriend Spiral."

Buck leaned down and nuzzled Heather. He had already taken a liking to her. And Heather had taken an interest in him as well.

"I've decided to use Buck."

"Good choice," Snivels said. "Buck needed a friend. Unfortunately, he won't go near Outcast territory, due to his previous experiences with Vikings."

"Then I guess I'll have to borrow a different dragon," Heather said calmly.

"There really aren't many options," Snivels said, "The best you can get is probably Stormfly."

"What about Astrid?" Heather asked. With the blonde raging in anger, there was no doubt she wouldn't let Heather anywhere near Stormfly.

Snivels sighed. "We're gonna have to worry about her later. The faster we get the book to Alvin, the sooner you can save your parents and join Team Go-Getters."

Heather sighed. "Easier said than done."

* * *

Stormfly woke up to the sound of footsteps heading her way. She sat up and noticed Heather approaching her with a basket filled to the brim with roasted chicken. The Nadder stood up as Heather took out a chicken leg and held it out to her. "I hear that you like this," the girl muttered as the dragon sniffed the leg a few times before devouring it. Snivels was hiding nearby, watching carefully in case Heather needed his help. Ninjark, Phoxie, Captain, and Vigor were with him. Snivels suddenly noticed an approaching figure and ducked into the shadows.

"What are you doing with my dragon?"

Heather turned to see Astrid glaring at her. It was taking all of the blonde's willpower not to lose her temper again. Heather shrugged, trying her best to act like she didn't care. "You like to sneak up on people, it seems."

"Only the ones that deserve it," Astrid said through her teeth. "And don't even think of giving me your Little Miss Innocent routine."

"I wasn't planning to," Heather said in a much calmer voice. "You're too smart for that."

Stormfly suddenly gave Heather a gentle nudge, as if telling her it was alright. Heather chuckled, "I think your dragon likes me." She patted the Nadder on the nose before retreating to where the Pokémon were waiting. After making sure that Astrid couldn't see them, she asked, "How did I do?"

Snivels gave his former trainer a look of uncertainty. "I would advise against anything that would be offensive to Astrid," he said.

* * *

Instead of heading back home, Astrid went out into the forest to practice with her axe. It helped her get rid of any anger she felt, though it didn't help if she wasn't entirely focused on it. She grumbled as she threw her axe at a tree. "That Heather. 'I think your dragon likes me,'" she mocked. "No one messes with me and my friends!"

Heather was watching from nearby. She had received a message from Sarabeth saying that she would be checking her progress that night. Heather didn't want to betray her new friends, but she knew that she had to convince Sarabeth that she had been doing what she had been asked to do, even though that wasn't the truth. _Stick with the plan_ , Heather thought to herself as she made a run for the nearby beach.

Sarabeth was waiting on the sandy beach, beside the boat she used to get there. She could hear someone approaching from within the forest, and she readied a spell in case it wasn't Heather. She was about to fire when Heather emerged from the trees, her hair full of leaves from running through some bushes. Sarabeth forced the spell to dissipate as Heather pulled the leaves out of her hair.

"What have you learned about Team Go-Getters?" Sarabeth asked as Heather straightened herself.

"I've learned a lot," Heather confirmed. That was the truth. "But there's something else," she added. "Something that'll make Alvin happy."

Sarabeth nodded, allowing Heather to continue.

"They have a book. And inside, they've written everything! Everything Alvin will need to know in order to control dragons. I don't have it yet, but I will soon. If Alvin can wait a little bit longer, it'll all be worth it."

Sarabeth gave Heather a bored look before nodding. "You may go...for now."

Heather quickly left, not wanting to be hit with one of the animus Pokémon's spells.

Sarabeth watched Heather leave. "Soon it will be time for a new dominant species," she muttered to herself. "Soon they will all perish, and I will take over as the new queen."

But neither Heather nor Sarabeth knew that Astrid was hiding behind a nearby rock. She had heard everything.

* * *

Hiccup was sleeping on the floor with Toothless when Astrid arrived. Scowling at her ex-boyfriend, she kicked him hard. "Wake up!"

Hiccup tumbled to the side, crying out in pain. "Why would you do that? What are you doing?"

"Saving our hides!" Astrid snapped. "I just saw Heather talking to Sarabeth! She's working with her and the Outcasts!"

Hiccup just looked at her in confusion. Grunting, Astrid forcefully grabbed him by the arm and dragged him up the stairs. Hiccup glanced back at a now-awake Toothless, who gave him a look of pity.

Astrid stopped when they were in the doorway to their bedroom. To her surprise and anger, Heather was in bed, sleeping with her Pokémon. Hiccup noticed the girl was asleep, and after climbing to his feet, well, foot and a half, he glanced at Astrid. "Don't you think it's possible that you saw something else?" he asked, "I mean, it's pretty dark out there."

Astrid's glare intensified before she turned and started to descend the stairs, with Hiccup following. "Hiccup, I know what I saw. That girl is not who you think she is!"

"Then who is she?" Hiccup asked as he followed her to the main entryway.

"I don't know!" Astrid shouted, but not loud enough to wake up the others. "No one does! You don't think it's strange that she mysteriously washed up on our beach?!"

Hiccup sighed. "Astrid, I understand that you're upset with this, but if you would just let me explain..."

"I'm not listening to anything you have to say!" Astrid snapped. She quickly added, "And don't think that you can show me anything either! It won't work again!"

"Astrid, please," Hiccup pleaded, "You don't understand."

"What don't I understand?!" Astrid shouted, her rage overflowing.

"I can't tell you yet," Hiccup said. "But if you would just take a deep breath and listen to me for a second..."

It was then that Astrid could no longer contain her rage. Eyes flashing with anger, she went and did something she never did before.

She slapped Hiccup in the face.

Crying out in pain, Hiccup reeled to the side, his hand reaching up and touching the spot where she had hit him. Eyes widening in realization, he slowly turned to face Astrid, who was breathing heavily. Realizing what she had done, Astrid turned and left, heading outside and slamming the door behind her. All of the rage was replaced with horror as she buried her face into her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Hiccup was listening from the other side of the door, and he could hear Astrid sobbing. He knew she hadn't meant to hurt him, but he also knew that it wouldn't be easy to convince her that he hadn't meant to leave her out.

Toothless joined his sorrowful friend and nudged him gently, crooning sadly. Hiccup sighed before hugging Toothless tightly, eyes filled with tears of hurt.

* * *

Heather had heard everything that had happened, and her stomach flipped at the sound of Astrid slapping Hiccup. It took all her willpower not to run downstairs and try to help Hiccup explain to Astrid. She was supposed to be asleep. And what's more, tonight was the night she was supposed to put her plan into action.

Heather waited until Hiccup and Toothless were asleep before she grabbed the Book of Dragons and quietly descended the stairs. Treading lightly, Heather made her way to Toothless, who was still wearing his saddle. She slowly and quietly opened the saddlebag and slipped the Book of Dragons inside. Now it would be safe.

Rushing back upstairs, Heather woke up all of her Pokémon before grabbing the Dragon Manual and climbing out the window. She jumped, landing on the ground with barely a sound. She waited until her Pokémon joined her before she made her way to Stormfly's stable. She noticed something in front of the doorway, and realized that it was Laetio. Shaking the Noibat awake, she whispered, "I need to borrow Stormfly so I can save my parents, and your family."

The baby Noibat didn't understand most of what Heather was saying, but he recognized the words "Stormfly," "save," "parents," and "family." Nodding, he got up and flapped away. Smiling, Heather crept inside Stormfly's stable, and quickly mounted the dragon.

It took Stormfly a minute to realize what was going on as Heather's Pokémon mounted her as well. Heather whispered her plan into the Nadder's ear, and the dragon squawked willingly. Soon they were airborne, with Laetio watching them leave. He sat there watching until he could no longer see Heather.

* * *

"Has anyone seen the Book of Dragons?" Hiccup shouted as he searched under the table and chairs. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, and it didn't help that he couldn't find the book. He was about to call again when the front door burst open. He looked up to see Astrid standing there, breathing heavily.

"She's gone!"

Hiccup looked at her in confusion. "Heather?"

Astrid shook her head. "Stormfly."

* * *

The plan was for Heather to swoop in on Stormfly, toss the book to Alvin, and grab her parents before he could realize that she had betrayed him. But her plan was interrupted by the timely arrival of Team Go-Getters. Snivels, who was the only Go-Getter who knew of Heather's plan besides Kickin' Hawk, trailed behind with the Hawlucha gliding beside him and Buck. Astrid was riding with Hiccup on Toothless, knowing that the Night Fury was the only dragon that could catch up with Stormfly.

Seeing Heather ahead of them, Hiccup promptly clicked the stirrup, allowing Toothless to speed up. Heather noticed them approaching and tossed a chicken leg into Stormfly's open maw, allowing them to pull ahead at the last second.

Hiccup was surprised. "Chicken?" he turned back to Astrid. "Is that what you've been...?"

"Are we really going to talk about this now?" Astrid interrupted. She still felt guilty about the night before, but now was the time to be serious.

Hiccup turned back to look at Heather and Stormfly. "I'll try to get you in close," he said as he clicked the stirrup again.

Snivels and Kickin' Hawk watched as their trainer and his ex-girlfriend tried to catch up to Heather. "Why couldn't we tell them about what Heather's actually trying to do?" Snivels asked the older Pokémon.

"Would they have listened to us?" Kickin' Hawk asked.

Snivels sighed. "No."

Ahead of them, Hiccup steered Toothless upward so that they were directly above Heather. "Keep him steady," Astrid told him as she stood up in the saddle. With a yell, she jumped off Toothless's back and landed on Stormfly, in front of Heather.

"I don't like the looks of this," Snivels grumbled as he urged Buck forward. The Grapple Grounder refused, instead pulling back and hovering. And Snivels could see why. Sharp, jagged rocks were jutting out of the water, which was covered in a thin layer of mist.

"HICCUP!"

Turning towards Snivels's shout, Hiccup noticed the rock spires and the misty waters, and realized what the shout was for. "Astrid, you might want to hurry things along!" he called.

"Give me a minute," Astrid said as she tried to pry herself from the other girl's grasp. "She's stronger than she looks!"

"Kinda like someone else we know," Blaze muttered from Wavern's back.

"I heard that!" Astrid shouted.

As they neared Outcast Island, Hiccup and the others pulled ahead in an attempt to distract the Outcasts from the girls' quarreling. The first catapult's shot missed, and was soon countered by Blaze's Flamethrower. Hiccup glanced back to see that Snivels had persuaded Buck forward far enough to let Heather's Pokémon jump on his back before the dragon pulled back far away from Outcast Island.

Astrid struggled against Heather's grip, her anger and frustration growing. "Don't you ever. Touch. My dragon. AGAIN!" Astrid suddenly threw the other girl off Stormfly's back, sending her and the Dragon Manual (which Team Go-Getters thought was the Book of Dragons) plummeting toward the ocean. Blaze noticed this and quickly urged Wavern after them. They were able to catch Heather, but the Dragon Manual slipped out of Blaze's grasp. "I got it!" Hiccup shouted as he steered Toothless into a dive. Blaze steered Wavern back to Astrid and Stormfly, who were waiting.

Hiccup and Toothless drew in closer and closer to the Dragon Manual, and Hiccup reached out to grab it, his fingers missing it by inches. Toothless suddenly noticed a boulder heading their way and pulled up sharply, leaving the Dragon Manual to plummet to the rocky ground of Outcast Island below. Watching the book fall, Hiccup steered Toothless away as multiple boulders were fired at them. They managed to dodge all of the flying rocks before rejoining the rest of Team Go-Getters.

"Did you get it?" Amber called out.

Hiccup shook his head. "No."

His next words pierced the hearts of his friends like a needle.

"Alvin has the Book of Dragons."

No one said a word as they flew the rest of the way home.

* * *

 **Well, there you have it. Heather's plan to save her parents failed, the members of Team Go-Getters think that the Outcasts have to Book of Dragons, and now they won't believe Heather when she tells them what her plan was! If there's anything I need to fix about this chapter, please let me know. In the meantime, please wait patiently for the next chapter in the Go-Getters' adventures!**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: The Plan

 **Now things start to get interesting! Again, Heather disobeyed Alvin and Sarabeth's orders, but at the moment the members of Team **Go-Getters consider her an enemy. Oh, and there's no intro this time.****

* * *

Heather gave out a yell as she was thrown back into her cell. She landed roughly on the floor and began to recall why she was there. She had attempted to defy Alvin the Treacherous and give him the Dragon Manual instead of the Book of Dragons like he requested. But the plan had backfired on her, as the members of Team Go-Getters had believed she had tried to betray them.

Heather had known that she was a Trainer of Destiny since she heard the prophecy in a dream. Cresselia, or Crescent as her friends called her, had used her powers to visit Heather in her dreams and inform her of her destiny. She had only agreed to do what Alvin said when he told her he wouldn't hurt her parents if she did so. But she had been planning to disobey him the entire time. The only problem was that now the members of Team Go-Getters wouldn't believe her.

Heather shook herself back to reality at the sound of her cell door closing. She picked herself off the floor and turned to see Astrid glaring at her through the bars of the door. "You can escape as many times as you want," Astrid said, "But you're not leaving this island for a long time." Heather threw herself onto the cell door in desperation, but Astrid stepped back. "Give it up, Heather, we have dragons."

Not wanting to cause a fight, Heather dropped her defenses. "Please," she pleaded. "I have to get back to Outcast Island!"

Astrid's glare intensified. "Sure you do."

Heather gave a brief sigh. "You don't understand," she nearly shrieked. "Alvin has my parents! I have to save them!"

"What about the 'pirates'?" Astrid asked, quoting what Heather had told them when they had first met.

"I made it up, I admit it," Heather said in fear and desperation, "I needed you to trust me!"

Astrid scoffed and turned to leave. "Well, guess what? We don't. No one does. Not anymore."

Heather watched the other girl leave, but before Astrid was out the door, she shouted out, "Snivels does."

Astrid stopped. Not even bothering to look back, she said, "There's no way he can trust you after what you did." With that, she left the prison, closing the door behind her.

Heather sighed in defeat. So many misunderstandings, from her seemed betrayal, to how she had caused Astrid to break up with her boyfriend - the one person who probably ever truly loved her.

This was one big mess for her to clean up.

* * *

Later that day, Team Go-Getters started training to get back the Dragon Manual (or as they still believed, the Book of Dragons). Snivels sat off to the side, guilty, while Kickin' Hawk reluctantly assisted with the training. Snivels had tried countless times to tell his friends about Heather's plan, but for some reason, no one would listen. And it didn't help that his trainer had asked the Viking teens to assist them in retrieving the book.

"Remember," Hiccup said, "We're only going to have one shot at getting the Book of Dragons back!"

"It might not take one shot," Snivels said, almost nervously. "Because the Book of Dragons is..." He was cut off by Hookfang suddenly flaming up and chasing Snotlout around the arena. He sighed. "What is it this time?" he asked Vengeance, who was loafing in the corner.

" _He's annoyed with his big oaf of a rider,_ " the Salamence replied with a yawn before rolling over and falling asleep.

"You never help me out when I need it!" Snotlout shouted at Vengeance as Hookfang snapped his jaws, missing his stubborn rider by inches. Snotlout suddenly turned around and grabbed his dragon by the horns and slamming his head to the ground. Hookfang's flames went out, and he began to relax.

"Figured that one out yesterday," Snotlout bragged, "He loves it."

"He likes having his horns slammed into the ground?" Fishlegs asked as he dismounted Meatlug.

"Torch likes that too," Amber commented. The slightly-bigger baby Typhoomerang perked up at the sound of his name.

There was a sudden scream, and all of Team Go-Getters turned to see Wavern using Bite on Fishlegs's head. "Get her off me!" Fishlegs screamed, trying to pull himself out of Wavern's jaws. Astrid sighed and reached into Stormfly's saddlebag, pulling out a Spelon Berry. Wavern caught the scent of the berry and let go of Fishlegs before eagerly running over to eat it out of Astrid's hand.

"We've known her for more than six months, and I'm still amazed that she can eat those kinds of berries without a reaction," Snivels said as he watched Wavern eat the berry.

Rubbing his head, Fishlegs walked up to Hiccup, who was dismounting Toothless. "You know, all this training is good and all," the Viking teen said, "But Alvin obviously isn't going to just hand the book over to us."

Snivels ran over and stood beside Hiccup. "About that," he began.

But he was cut off again, this time by Astrid. "But maybe he'll hand it to Heather."

Not knowing what she meant, Fishlegs whispered, "I think Astrid's been eating Dragon Nip again." This earned him a savage punch from Astrid. "OW! Why is it always violence with you?!"

"It's not violence," Astrid said calmly. "It's communication."

"In a certain matter," Snivels added under his breath.

Astrid would have punched him if Hiccup hadn't asked her, "So are you suggesting that we let Heather go?"

Astrid shrugged. "Sort of."

"Yep," Fishlegs said, "Dragon Nip." This earned him a punch in the gut.

* * *

Ninjark couldn't have been more bored. He, Phoxie, Captain, and Vigor had been locked in a cell that was designed for holding dragons. It was true, they hadn't been the most trusting, since neither their trainer, nor had they been completely honest. And now the members of Team Go-Getters didn't believe them when they knew they were telling the truth.

Ninjark was about to try and fire another Water Pulse at the cell door when it opened, revealing Snivels, Kickin' Hawk, and Laetio. Snivels walked in the cell, gesturing to the open door. "We're getting you guys out of here."

" _It's about time,_ " Ninjark said as he, Phoxie, Captain and Vigor got up and walked out of the cell.

Snivels shrugged. "Sorry we couldn't get you guys out sooner," he said, "But with our friends always training, it's a bit hard to sneak away, since they're expecting us to train as well."

" _If it makes you feel any better,_ " Phoxie said. " _I was being really patient._ "

" _I was worried we were never going to get out of there,_ " Captain said as he gathered some of the food that had been left for them before walking out of the cell.

"Good things come to those who wait," Kickin' Hawk said. "And luckily, Snivels was able to sniff you all out."

Snivels shrugged. "You could say I have these abilities for a reason," he said.

Laetio gave a small chirp before flapping his wings and trying to fly. But he ended up crashing to the ground, as usual.

* * *

It was nighttime when Hiccup and the Viking teens finished setting up a small boat, as Astrid had instructed them to. Blaze examined the boat for a few minutes before asking, "Where's Snivels?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I haven't seen him since this morning," he said.

"Maybe he just wandered off," Amber suggested. "He's been doing that ever since the incident with Heather."

"I just hope that this plan works," Palus stated as he loaded some supplies on the boat.

Blaze shot him a glare. "We're trying to figure out why one of our teammates isn't acting like himself, and all you have to say is that you're hoping the plan will work?!"

"Snivels isn't the only one not acting like himself," Palus said as he climbed out of the boat. "I mean, you've been really moody lately."

Blaze sighed and regained her calmness. "I'm just frustrated," she said.

Snotlout watched from the sidelines, bound and gagged by Spike. He had been getting stronger thanks to the extra training, and had already gained quite a few levels.

It was about that time that the sound of distant footsteps arrived on the beach. Hiccup turned in the direction of the sound. "That must be..." He trailed off as a figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Heather!" Ruffnut finished.

"Get her!" Tuffnut shouted as they took off running towards the girl. The male twin added, "That rhymes!" before they both pinned the figure on the ground. "You. Must. Stay. In. Your. Cell! How many times do we have to tell you?!" His response was a savage punch in the face, which threw him off, giving the girl the chance to push Ruffnut off as well.

"It's me, you mutton-heads!"

Ruffnut, dazed by the sudden attack, didn't say anything.

"Sorry, Astrid," Tuffnut said. "That disguise is totally convincing."

Astrid scoffed as she picked herself off the ground and brushed herself off. "Yeah, I could tell."

It was hard for even Hiccup to be sure it was Astrid. Not only had she dyed her hair black, and changed the hairstyle to match that of Heather's, but she'd also gotten the style of clothes almost exactly identical.

"Are you sure about this?" Hiccup asked as Astrid walked by.

Astrid stopped and gave a deep sigh before replying. "No. But it's our only chance. You don't need to shadow me like you always do, you know."

That last part nearly made Hiccup's heart sink. "It'll make me feel better," he said.

Astrid let out another sigh and turned to face him. "Fine. But if Alvin sees you, it'll all be over."

Hiccup shrugged. "Don't worry about it," he said, "We'll be fine. Just get the book and get out of there. We'll be waiting for you."

Astrid nodded before turning back toward the boat. Hiccup suddenly laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait."

Astrid stopped. Hiccup was expecting her to turn around and face him, but he went on anyway. "I'm sorry. For not listening to you, for forgetting about the race...for everything."

Astrid could have sworn her heart had skipped a beat. But she ignored it. "It's okay," she muttered, "We'll talk later."

Hiccup was so caught up in what Astrid said, he didn't notice her climb into the boat and ship off until she was almost out of hearing distance. "Stay safe," he said, hoping she heard him. Astrid gave him a slight nod to show that she had heard him. Hiccup stood there until he couldn't see her or the boat anymore.

When they got back, he was definitely going to talk to her about his mistakes.

But for now, they had to get ready to go to Outcast Island.

* * *

Heather was crouched in the corner of her cell, her cheeks stained with tears. She had failed the prophecy and had most likely caused the biggest and most heartbreaking break-up in possibly the entire archipelago. It seemed reasonable to her to spend the rest of her life in prison.

All because she hadn't told the truth when she knew she should have.

"It's not too late, you know."

Heather turned her head so fast, she probably would have gotten whiplash. She could see Kickin' Hawk staring at her through the bars of the cell door. "Not too late to what?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Snivels was by Kickin' Hawk's side in a flash. "To do the right thing," he said.

Heather's eyes widened as Ninjark, Phoxie, and Captain soon joined them. "Guys!"

Throwing herself onto the cell door, Heather reached through the bars and hugged her Pokémon tightly. Kickin' Hawk turned to Snivels.

"Get the keys."

Snivels nodded before zooming off somewhere.

Heather's eyes filled with fresh tears as she tried to maintain a grip on her Pokémon through the bars of the door. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have told the truth from the beginning." Ninjark looked up at his trainer, his eyes glistening with relief and sorrow.

"Heather."

The girl gasped and stared at her Froakie. "Ninjark?"

The Froakie sniffled before responding. "Heather."

The girl's eyes widened. "You can talk," she muttered.

"We can talk," said Captain.

Phoxie hung her head. "We didn't tell you because we were afraid."

Ninjark nodded in agreement. "But we're not anymore."

Heather gave her friends a warm smile. She was then blinded by a bright blue light surrounding Ninjark. Snivels returned with a ring of keys, and was also blinded. When the light faded, Ninjark was a Froakie no more.

He was a Frogadier.

Heather was speechless. Her little Froakie had just evolved! Ninjark grabbed the keys from Snivels and quickly unlocked Heather's door. The girl burst out of her cell and hugged Ninjark tightly. "Thank you," she muttered under her breath. "Thank you."

Ninjark calmly pulled out of his trainer's embrace. "It's not just me you have to thank," he said, looking over at Kickin' Hawk and Snivels.

The Hawlucha stepped forward. "We don't have much time," he said. "The remaining members of Team Go-Getters are attempting to get the Dragon Manual back."

Heather gasped. "That's right, I forgot they think Alvin has the Book of Dragons!"

"We gotta do something!" Captain exclaimed.

"First, we need a dragon," Snivels said. Heather nodded.

"Let's do it."

* * *

It didn't take Astrid too long to reach Outcast Island. It was still dark out when she docked on the shores of the rocky, lifeless island. She quickly got out and tied the boat to a rock. She had just finished when she turned to find herself surrounded by Outcast soldiers, among them Savage and his Houndoom.

"We thought you'd been captured," Savage said to Astrid, obviously convinced by her disguise.

"I was," Astrid said, trying to sound like Heather. "But I managed to get away. I tried to save my Pokémon, but I didn't have time." She tried to sound depressed as she said the last part.

Savage bent down to examine her before chuckling. "Well, it's good to see you safe and sound," he said, then turned to the soldiers.

"Get rid of her."

Astrid couldn't stop herself from shouting, "What?!"

"We don't need you anymore," Savage said as the soldiers took aim with their crossbows.

A plan quickly formed in Astrid's mind. "Savage, wait! You do need me! I can prove it! You have the book, right? I've watched and learned from it! That book is only worth something if you know how to use it."

Savage thought for a minute before finally nodding.

* * *

Back at the Academy, the rest of Team Go-Getters were packing up for their "trip" to Outcast Island.

Hiccup sighed as he put on his flight gear. He hadn't had to wear it in a while, and he needed to remember how to use the straps and buckles. But he was also thinking about how Astrid had dumped him. He was obviously not doing a good job of hiding his disappointment, because Blaze was soon beside him.

"I know there's something bothering you."

Hiccup looked up at her and sighed. "I didn't want to tell anyone this," he said, "But the thing is...I want to propose to Astrid." Blaze's eyes shined with interest. Hiccup continued, "Kickin' Hawk found a ring when we were in the treasure cave, and he gave it to me. I knew what it was he wanted me to do, and I was planning to, but...I just went and screwed it up big time."

Blaze cast her eyes down to the floor of the Academy. "I have a secret, too," she said. Hiccup looked at her, interested. "You know how I've had problems controlling my temper?" Blaze asked, "And how I'm not as active as I usually am?" Hiccup nodded. Blaze bent down and whispered something in his ear.

Hiccup's eyes widened almost to the size of chicken eggs as he stared at Blaze. "You serious?" Blaze nodded. Hiccup sucked in a breath. "Kickin' Hawk, right?" Blaze nodded again. Hiccup exhaled loudly.

"Anything else that's bugging you?" Blaze asked, hoping to change the subject. Hiccup sighed again.

"Okay, I'll admit, I'm also worried about whether or not Astrid's plan is going to work."

Behind him, Palus was checking Toothless's saddlebag to make sure they had packed everything.

Hiccup continued, "But I know that if there's anyone who can do something like that, it's Astrid."

Palus's eyes suddenly widened as he stared in the saddlebag, and he quietly showed Tito the contents. "Uh-oh," the Helioptile whimpered.

Not noticing them, Hiccup finished his statement, "I mean, she's Astrid."

"Um, Hiccup?"

Hearing his name, Hiccup turned to Tito. "Yes, Tito?" he asked.

"I believe Palus requires your attention," Tito said, pointing.

Hiccup shrugged. "Oh, what is it, Palus?"

Not saying anything, Palus reached into Toothless's saddlebag and pulled out the Book of Dragons and opened it up to the page about Night Furies.

After realizing what it was, Hiccup sighed. "Palus, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to think very hard before you answer."

"Thinking's always hard," Palus stated.

Hiccup sighed. "I know," he said. "Here's the thing: if we have the Book of Dragons, what exactly was Heather trying to give to Alvin?"

"The Dragon Manual."

Hiccup and Palus turned to Blaze, their eyes widening. _That's what Snivels was trying to tell me,_ Hiccup realized.

"We have to get Astrid out of there," Amber said, "Alvin and Sarabeth will kill her!"

Hiccup sighed. "If we expose her, they will." The present members of Team Go-Getters all exchanged matching glances of confusion and worry.

They were stuck.

* * *

 **And the suspense builds! Three guesses as to what's going on with Blaze, and how Kickin' Hawk's involved in it! I'll be waiting for reviews!**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Love and Trust

 **Now for the suspenseful ending of this ridiculously long episode!**

* * *

Snivels, Kickin' Hawk, Heather, Ninjark, and the other Pokémon managed to reach the Academy before the remaining members of Team Go-Getters left for Outcast Island. It took a long time for Heather to explain everything to Team Go-Getters, especially since she was ashamed of not being honest with them. "I know I should have told the truth the first time we met," she said. "But right now, we have to help Astrid, and my parents."

"Heather's right," Hiccup said, "Anyone got any ideas?"

"I have a few," Heather said, reaching for a bag that she had brought with her. She reached in and pulled out a bunch of small cups that contained a green liquid. "This is something I've been working on for a while," she said as she handed everyone a cup of the liquid, "It should temporarily protect us from Sarabeth's spells." Heather was skilled in alchemy, and tended to create bizarre fluids that had interesting effects on some of her test subjects.

Hiccup eyed the liquid. "Will it work?" he asked.

Heather shrugged.

"I'll take my chances," Kickin' Hawk said before gulping down the liquid. One by one, the other Pokémon drank the liquid as well. Hiccup hesitated before drinking his share of the potion. Heather grabbed a cup of the potion for herself to drink.

Snivels held his cup and examined the liquid. "You know," he said, "This goes against everything I learned in Health Class."

Heather had just finished her drink, and shot him a glare. "Do you want to save Astrid or not?"

Snivels sighed. "Bottoms up," he said before tipping his head back and swallowing the potion in one gulp.

Hiccup waited until everyone had finished their drinks before mounting Toothless. "We need to be careful," he said, "We don't know what's on Outcast Island, so be ready for anything."

Blaze got up and went to mount Wavern, but Kickin' Hawk stopped her. "You're due any time now," he said. "Go back to the house and rest, we'll be back as soon as we can." Blaze reluctantly nodded and left the Academy.

Within minutes, the members of Team Go-Getters had all mounted their dragons, and they all took off, heading for Outcast Island.

* * *

It took a long, awkward encounter with a wild Gronckle and Sliggoo, but Savage managed to get the Dragon Manual and bring it to Alvin. With a burn mark on his helmet blasted there especially for the occasion. Alvin took the Dragon Manual from his right-hand man and was about to open it when Astrid spoke up.

"The book can only get you so far, Alvin."

The Outcast leader stopped and stared at her a moment. "Then if that's the case," he said with a growl, "You can show us how to do it the right way!"

Sarabeth was watching nearby, her eyes narrowing at Alvin.

 _He has no idea what's coming..._

* * *

The remaining members of Team Go-Getters managed to reach Outcast Island without being detected by any of the inhabitants (They had left the Book of Dragons back on Berk, of course). Heather had somehow managed to convince Buck that he had to come with them, and he reluctantly carried her to the island. They picked a good spot by the shore, where not a single Outcast building was in sight.

Hiccup stayed up the entire night. He was worried about Astrid. Especially since she didn't know that Heather had been planning on betraying Alvin the entire time.

Snivels stayed up late, too. No way he'd be getting any sleep if his trainer was going to be awake and worrying the whole night through. "You sure you don't want to try calling the whole thing off? We can still get her out of there without too much harm."

Sighing, Hiccup told him, "Come on, Snivels. She can handle it. It's Astrid, remember?"

Snivels knew for a fact that Hiccup was mostly saying that to reassure himself rather than anyone else.

Ninjark, meanwhile, had taken quite a bit of an interest in Xylia.

"You're the most beautiful Grovyle I've ever seen," the Frogadier said, his cheeks turning a bit red.

Xylia was surprised for a minute before she smiled. "That is the sweetest thing any other Pokémon has ever said to me," she said.

Ninjark literally went red all over before he fainted.

Xylia giggled.

* * *

The Outcasts led Astrid to their dragon training arena. Unlike the one back on Berk, it was larger, and more terrifying. There was no telling how many dragon had been killed in that arena. Astrid stopped before the entrance and turned to look at Alvin. "What?" the Outcast leader demanded.

Astrid held out her hand. "The book. I need it. I didn't memorize it, after all." Alvin grumbled as he reluctantly handed Astrid the Dragon Manual. An Outcast soldier opened the entry gate, and Astrid bravely stepped into the arena.

The Outcast soldier quickly shut the gate as soon as Astrid was inside. Alvin and Savage then retreated to the seats above the arena, where Hyde and a Houndoom were waiting for them. Alvin promptly gestured for one of the soldiers to open one of the gates in the arena.

"Please be a Deadly Nadder," Astrid whispered repeatedly as one of the cage doors unlocked.

Just her luck, the doors opened to reveal a hot-tempered, purple-tinged Monstrous Nightmare.

Sighing, Astrid opened the book to read about the dragon species, and immediately noticed that something was not right. With the pages filled with information about how fatal the attacks of a dragon could be, and the obvious warning about how dangerous they were, it took her less than half a minute to realize that she was actually holding the Dragon Manual. That meant either one of the other members of Team Go-Getters had swapped the books before Heather could get away, or Heather purposefully chose the wrong one. Astrid, of course, believed it to be the former.

Tossing the book aside, Astrid tried to remember how to handle Stoker-Class dragons. She suddenly remembered how Snotlout had managed to calm Hookfang a few days ago.

It was worth a shot.

She was brought back to reality when the Nightmare just barely missed her with its powerful jaws. Seizing the opportunity, Astrid grabbed the dragon's horns. The dragon glared at her for a minute before realizing what it was she was doing, and let her slowly but firmly bend his horns to the ground. The Nightmare started purring, and allowed Astrid to climb on his back. Leaving the Dragon Manual, Astrid started to steer the dragon toward the exit, only to find it blocked by a large group of Outcast soldiers.

"Going somewhere?" Alvin asked as Astrid glared up at him.

"As far away from this place as possible!" she shouted.

Alvin signaled some Outcast soldiers, who led two frightened-looking Vikings to the edge of the arena. "Without your parents?" Alvin asked, gesturing to the two prisoners.

Astrid's eyes instantly widened. "Parents? Heather was telling the truth?" she asked herself quietly, so that Alvin could not hear.

Hyde dumped the two Vikings into the arena. "I think it's a fair trade for that book," Alvin said with an evil smile, "Either that, or you can leave, and I'll kill them myself!"

Before Astrid could react, there was a loud screech, and a gigantic Pokémon landed behind the Outcast leader and shoved him to the side. It was then attacked by multiple Outcast soldiers, as well as a horde of Houndoom, but easily batted them away as if they were all harmless flies. In the middle of the chaos, Astrid managed to get a good look at the Pokémon.

It was extremely therapod-like, and had round purple-striped plates on its shoulder area, where two pink pearls lay encrusted with a gray rim encircling them and fins in their back. Its arms had extended formations resembling gauntlets and a purple band around each wrist. It had a long neck, a pointed white crest on the top of its head that extended to its wings, two strong horn-like tusks on the sides of its jaw, and a powerful tail.

Clearly, it was not a Pokémon to be messed with.

As quickly as it appeared, the Pokémon disappeared, before suddenly reappearing in the middle of the arena. The Monstrous Nightmare growled at the sight of it before backing down in fear of the powerful Pokémon. Astrid stared at the Pokémon as it leaned its head in close to her. "You do not need to be afraid," the Pokémon said, "My name is Apeiron, and I am here to help you, Trainer of Destiny." Astrid was stunned, but she nodded. Apeiron gave her a small smile. "My friends Chronos and Drageist should be arriving soon," he said, "We've been sent by Fjord to help you and your friends escape." He then grabbed the two Vikings in his large hands and held them up close to his face and inspected them. He sighed before adding, "And these two as well."

Astrid suddenly felt herself being grabbed from behind, and was pulled off of the dragon to find herself in Alvin's grasp. The Outcast leader chuckled as Hyde approached with the Dragon Manual in his hands. "Heather, Heather, Heather," Alvin scolded, shaking his head. He set Astrid down and let go of her to see his hand was covered with a black substance. He had touched her hair, and some of the charcoal she had used to dye her hair had come off. It wasn't enough to expose her real hair color, but it was enough to make Alvin suspicious.

"Or are you?"

Apeiron groaned in the background.

* * *

Hiccup was a patient person, but even he had to admit that Astrid was taking much longer than they had expected. Toothless could sense that Hiccup was worried, and nuzzled him gently, trying to cheer him up. But it didn't do much. Hiccup scratched Toothless's chin half-heartedly and sighed. "Maybe we should go look for her," he said.

"Or maybe, you could turn around."

Hiccup, surprised by the strange voice, turned to see a large, bipedal Pokémon landing in the middle of their waiting area. He was holding two Vikings in his hands, and riding on his neck was none other than Astrid.

Hiccup was practically frozen at the sight of the gigantic Pokémon, which went for all the other members of Team Go-Getters as well. Kickin' Hawk was the first to speak up. "It's been a while since I last saw you, Palkia."

Apeiron chuckled. "Good to see you too, old friend. And my name is Apeiron." He leaned his head down to allow Astrid to climb off of him.

It was about then that Hiccup was finally able to get himself to move. Lunging forward, he pulled Astrid into an embrace, which she returned after a moment's hesitation. Apeiron reluctantly set the two Vikings down, and watched as Heather reunited with her parents. He turned his head to see Dialga and Giratina behind him. "Aren't you two a bit tardy to the party?" he asked jokingly.

Astrid pulled away from Hiccup to see Heather standing behind her nervously. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Astrid said.

"It's okay," Heather said. "I wouldn't have believed me either."

Snivels sighed. "Can we get out of here?" he asked. No sooner after he had asked, the members of Team Go-Getters found themselves surrounded by Outcast soldiers and Houndoom, who had been hiding behind trees and rocks. "Didn't see that coming," Snivels stated.

Alvin walked out from behind a rock with Hyde beside him, carrying the Dragon Manual. "Bet you all are surprised to see me," Alvin said.

"Not really," Hiccup said, shrugging.

"Bit hard to when we already know you live here," Snivels added.

Alvin shook his head as Sarabeth came into view. "You know, Hiccup," the evil Viking said, "With this book, your knowledge of the dragons, and my knowledge of warfare, we could make quite the team! How does that sound?"

Hiccup, Snivels, Amber and Tito all looked at each other before they each listed off appropriate adjectives that described the idea.

"Insane."

"Demented."

"Delusional."

"Stupid."

Alvin looked mystified for a minute before replying. "Alright, you'll just have to agree to disagree. Your a smart boy, Hiccup. I can't let you leave the island."

"No one will be leaving this place," Sarabeth said, staring at Alvin, who failed to notice the true meaning of the animus Pokémon's words.

Astrid pointed to the Serperior. "She's using you, Alvin," she said, "As soon as she gets what she wants, she'll get rid of you!"

Alvin chuckled. "You expect me to believe that?"

Sarabeth's glare intensified. She gave her tail a quick shake. In seconds, all of the Outcasts were bound by an invisible force, including Alvin. "I've been standing in your shadow for too long," Sarabeth hissed at the Outcast chief. "It's high time I started doing things my way."

Alvin said nothing, stunned by the sudden actions of the snake-like Pokémon.

Sarabeth scoffed. "Disgusting creatures," she muttered before turning to the Trainers of Destiny. "I've got some work to do."

She started to slither over to the entirety of Team Go-Getters, who were immediately guarded by Chronos, Apeiron, and Drageist. Alvin watched helplessly as his men struggled against the invisible binds of Sarabeth's spell. The only thing the Outcast chief could think to utter was, "Oh, Loki."

Astrid found herself in the middle of a protective circle with Hiccup and Heather, surrounded by their Pokémon and dragon friends. She suddenly noticed that her ace partner was missing. "Where's Blaze?"

Hiccup hesitated before answering, "She's a bit busy right now."

Heather also hesitated before speaking, "I'm so sorry for everything I did. I didn't mean to make you guys break up, I just wanted to learn a bit more about Toothless."

"No," Hiccup said, "It's my fault. I should have known better than to just bail out on the race."

"It's okay," Astrid said. "You were trying to help." There was no trace of ill will in her voice.

"Thanks," Hiccup muttered, a ghost of a smile on his face.

Sarabeth tried to look for an opening, but with three Legendary Pokémon protecting the Trainers of Destiny, she knew that she was being outmatched once again. She turned to see that Ryu had accidentally separated herself from the group. She started to force up a spell, knowing that one of the Trainers of Destiny would try to help her.

Sure enough, Astrid darted forward to grab Ryu. Smiling, Sarabeth focused her power before unleashing a blast of black and purple energy. Hiccup noticed this and, without thinking, lunged forward in front of the blast.

Normally, a spell made entirely of dark magic as powerful as Sarabeth's would have killed him. But the magic blast stopped short of its target, as if an invisible shield was preventing it from going any further. Hiccup could feel the power of the blast, and was at first confused as to why it wasn't hurting him before he realized that Heather's potion was actually working.

Sarabeth, surprised, watched as her spell lifted away without doing any damage. "Impossible! No one is immune to my dark magic!"

"Well, one of my friend's experiments says otherwise," Hiccup said with a shrug.

Sarabeth snarled in response.

Astrid, realizing what had happened, checked to make sure that Ryu was okay. The little Shiny Dratini was shaken, but very much alive. Astrid stroked Ryu's head softly. "It's okay," she said, comfortingly. "I was going to protect you, but Hiccup protected me instead."

Ryu opened her eyes at the sound of her trainer's voice.

Astrid gave her a small smile. "The next time you need help, I'll make sure to protect you, okay?"

Ryu nodded to show she understood.

The next thing Astrid knew, there was a bright light, and Ryu wriggled out of her skin. But unlike the other times she had shed, she started to shift, change, evolve. When the light faded, there was a discarded Dratini skin laying on the ground next to a Shiny Dragonair. Realizing that Ryu had evolved, Astrid smiled.

Snarling in anger, Sarabeth had to force herself to retreat. The spell she'd been using to hold Alvin captive suddenly released, and the Outcast leader dove for the Dragon Manual. Sarabeth looked back at him, but she scoffed and slithered off. "You were never worth it, anyway," she said.

"Don't let her escape!" Chronos shouted. Snivels darted forward, but it was too late. In a flash of light, Sarabeth was gone. She had used her magic to teleport herself away.

"That's something you don't see everyday," Amber said, surprised at what had just happened.

"Let's get out of here before that metal-head recovers," Kickin' Hawk said as he mounted Drageist.

By the time Alvin was able to stand up, Team Go-Getters was already heading back to Berk on their dragons. He noticed Hyde on the ground, knocked out from the battle. Alvin reached down and picked up the discarded Dragon Manual and opened it. As he started reading, he quickly realized that he had the wrong book. Looking up, he saw the bodies of his fallen men and their Pokémon. Betrayal and rage filled him until he let out a yell.

Watching from an overhead cliff, Sarabeth glared at her newest rival before using her magic to transport herself off of the retched island.

* * *

Shortly after Team Go-Getters arrived on Berk, Chronos, Apeiron, and Drageist departed to report back to Fjord. No sooner after they left, Kickin' Hawk explained that Heather was one of the Trainers of Destiny, and that she had to stay with the other Trainers of Destiny in order to make sure of the prophecy's fulfillment. Heather then helped arranged a ship for her parents for them to go back to Peaceable Island. It hurt her to see her parents go, but she knew she had her new friends to help her now.

Heather was silent as she watched her parents ship off to Peaceable Island. She waited until they were out of sight before she turned to her new friends, who had stayed to comfort her if necessary. Astrid had removed her disguise, and was now back in her normal attire, which was much more comfortable for her. She had even had time to wash all of the charcoal out of her hair. After a moment of silence, the entirety of Team Go-Getters left the docks and started the long walk home.

"I'm so sorry that I wasn't honest in the beginning," Heather said, her voice filled with regret, "If I had just told you the truth, you wouldn't have had to go through all of that."

"Apology accepted," Snivels said without hesitating. He turned to Astrid, who was staring at him with shock. Snivels smiled. "And if you're thinking that I switched out the Book of Dragons with the Dragon Manual before Heather took off for Outcast Island because I didn't trust her, you're wrong. Heather grabbed the wrong book on purpose."

Hiccup listened to his friends talk. Although he was relieved that the plan had somehow worked out, and that Astrid had made it out okay, he was still upset about the breakup. Once you made Astrid mad, it was hard to change her mind and get her to listen.

He couldn't take it.

"I think I'll go for a flight," he said to no one in particular as he mounted Toothless. The Night Fury was confused, but he took off after Hiccup clicked his prosthetic into place. Astrid watched Hiccup leave, she had been wanting to thank him for saving her. But that would have to wait until later.

* * *

After making it back to their home, Astrid still couldn't believe that Hiccup had just left them like that. Heather watched her friend pace across the room. "If it makes you feel any better," the raven-haired girl said after hesitating, "I'd like to thank you for all you've done for us."

Astrid stopped to nod at Heather before resuming her pacing. Blaze was watching fro the other side of the room, sitting next to the straw nest, which was now filled with Torchic and Hawlucha eggs. Her eggs. And it didn't take a genius to know that the father was Kickin' Hawk.

Snivels was also watching Astrid pace. He was about to go and talk to her when Blaze stood up and walked over to her trainer. "We all promised to keep this a secret," the Blaziken said with hesitation (which was something that didn't happen to her often), "But there is something that you need to know about Hiccup."

"Does it have anything to do with why he just went and left?" Astrid asked, not bothering to turn and look at her partner.

Blaze shrugged. "Sort of. You know as well as we do that he didn't mean to leave you out."

"He didn't mean to forget about the race with you," Heather added, "But I'll admit that it is partially my fault that happened."

"But that's beside the point," Blaze said quickly. "I may not have been on Outcast Island, but I don't doubt that Hiccup was really worried about you. And there's a reason for that too, other than the fact that he really cares about you."

As the people and Pokémon talked, Tito started to get nervous. He was worried about how Astrid was going to react when she found out the truth. But he was also frustrated that they weren't saying it outright. Hiccup could have left the island already, and they hadn't gotten any closer to telling Astrid what Hiccup had been planning. After pulling on his ears for a few seconds, Tito lost it.

"ENOUGH! HICCUP WANTS TO MARRY YOU!"

Everyone in the room turned to stare at the Helioptile. Realizing what had happened, Tito covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes wide with both shock and embarrassment.

Astrid pondered what Tito had just said. "He wants to what?"

"Marry you," Blaze said, "That's what we've been trying to tell you."

After thinking for a minute, everything started to become clear to Astrid. "He was trying to propose," she said in realization, "And I called him useless!"

"It's not too late," Snivels said, "If you hurry, you can find him! Assuming he hasn't left the island already."

Realizing that Hiccup could have left, or was planning on leaving, Astrid turned to leave. "I have to talk to Hiccup," she said, "Tell him I love him." She threw the door open and ran outside.

"Wait!" Snivels shouted, getting up from his seat, "You don't know where he is...! And there she goes."

Astrid didn't hear what the Servine was saying. She was already mounting Stormfly. "We have to find Hiccup!" she told her dragon, who eagerly took off into the sky. They circled nearly the entire island, Astrid calling Hiccup's name, hoping for a response. But they didn't have much luck. Astrid was beginning to think that Hiccup had already left. Stormfly suddenly squawked, and started flying in the direction of the cove. Realizing that she had forgotten to check the cove in her haste, Astrid leaned in to see Toothless near the edge of the cove. And where there was Toothless, there had to be Hiccup.

Stormfly landed just outside the cove, where Astrid dismounted her. Astrid scanned the cove until she saw Hiccup sitting on a rock by the lake near the center of the cove. She could tell from the way he was sitting that he was upset. Sighing, she carefully climbed down into the cove and started to approach him. Hiccup didn't take notice of her until she was behind him.

Not bothering to turn around, Hiccup sighed.

Neither of them spoke for a long time before Hiccup asked, "Why are you here?"

"You already know the answer to that," Astrid said. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid could tell from the tone of his voice that he was expecting her to yell at him. "What I said before," she said. "When you took Heather for a private lesson. I was wrong to accuse you of choosing her over me. I said and did very mean things, and...I'm sorry."

Hiccup didn't say anything. He hadn't expected Astrid to say anything like that. But for the record, he was glad that she wasn't mad at him. "I guess maybe we were both wrong about Heather," he said.

Astrid shrugged. "You could say that." They were silent again before Astrid said, "I never should have said any of those things to you, Hiccup. No one deserves to be called useless, especially you. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. I was mad that you had trusted Heather so easily, and I had thought that you believed she was more important than spending time with me. I was wrong to have assumed those things."

Hiccup, now more confident, stood up and turned to face her. "I could never think bad things about you, Astrid. You're more than just a friend to me. I like Heather, but more like a sister. There isn't a single girl in the world that could ever replace you."

That was what Astrid had wanted to hear from him. After everything that she had said and done the past few days, and he still loved her. Without hesitating, she embraced him. Hiccup was momentarily surprised, but he didn't hesitate to hug her back. He had missed being with Astrid like this, and he was hoping that the moment would last forever.

Remembering what Hiccup had been planning, Astrid pulled out of the embrace, knowing that Hiccup would take the opportunity to try and propose to her.

And take it, he did.

Hiccup hesitated before taking both of Astrid's hands in his. He was nervous, but he knew he couldn't back out now. Not when this could be his only chance to finally propose. He took a deep breath before finally gathering up the courage to say what he had been wanting to for a long time.

"Astrid, we've known each other for a long time, and although the last few days have been a bit hard, I know that whatever happens, we always find a way to pull through. I've been thinking a lot about our relationship, and I know that if there's anyone I can count on to always stay beside me no matter what, it's you. I love you, Astrid, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

He let go of her hands, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the ring. He then got down on one knee and held up the ring. "Astrid, will you marry me?"

Astrid, not believing that Hiccup had actually asked her, hesitated before giving him her answer.

"Yes."

Smiling, Hiccup stood up, taking Astrid's hand and slipping the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. "Astrid, I..."

"It's okay, Hiccup," Astrid said, cutting him off. "I love you, too."

The next thing he knew, Astrid leaned in and kissed him. Hiccup's eyes widened in shock before he overcame it and kissed her back gently.

Toothless and Stormfly watched from the other side of the cove, exchanging looks of confusion.

 _Humans are so weird._

* * *

Astrid and Hiccup walked back home, hand in hand, with Toothless and Stormfly following. All of their friends were waiting for them outside, and they were all eager to find out how it had gone. Astrid didn't wait for anyone to ask before revealing the big news.

"We're engaged!"

Snivels was the first to react, jumping around and hugging whoever he could. He had been waiting for his trainer to finally pop the question, and he almost couldn't believe that he finally had. Everyone else was momentarily surprised by both the revelation and Snivels's reaction, but it didn't take long for it to sink in. Blaze, Heather, and Ninjark walked over to congratulate the couple while some of the others joined in Snivels's celebration.

Hiccup and Astrid watched their friends celebrate, both of them happy about their accomplishments.

Kickin' Hawk watched the scene unfold from the side. He shook his head and smiled.

"It's about time."

Heather gave both Astrid and Hiccup a hug. "I can't believe this is actually happening! Can you Ninjark?" But the Frogadier wasn't there. Heather looked around for a few seconds and noticed Ninjark walking towards the forest, holding hands with Xylia. Ninjark looked over his shoulder and waved to his trainer.

"I'll be back later!"

Heather smiled as she watched her partner leave with his new crush.

Finally, the members of Team Go-Getters were all back together.

* * *

Back in the Sanctuary, Verne cautiously entered the area where Obera had said the Night Furies would be. He found himself in an open cavern, and realized that he was surrounded by nearly a dozen Night Furies. " _I don't mean any harm,_ " he said quickly, " _I'm just looking for a mate for my friend._ "

The Night Furies exchanged some looks of mild concern before backing away. " _Obera told us,_ " said one of the black dragons, " _We have been expecting you._ "

" _Do any of you know of a Night Fury named Toothless_ _?_ " Verne asked.

The Night Furies exchanged looks of confusion before their leader spoke up. " _The dragons here all know him as Shadow, but we have heard great tales of his adventures in the outside world as the one called Toothless._ "

" _I heard that he had a friend here named Ebony that might be a suitable mate for him,_ " Verne said.

One of the Night Furies stepped forward.

" _You mean me?_ "

Verne realized that the Night Fury was female, and that she was the one that Obera had mentioned. " _I had promised my friend that I would find a mate for him,_ " he said, " _And I would like you to come with me._ " Ebony shook her head. " _No, I don't think I'm ready to leave the Sanctuary yet,_ " she said, " _I don't know what it's like out there._ " " _I can tell you,_ " Verne offered, " _But it might take a while._ " Ebony sat down.

" _I'll listen for as long as I have to,_ " she said.

* * *

 _Ever since dragons showed up on Berk, we've learned to expect the unexpected. And every once in a while, someone or something comes along and surprises us. And if you open your heart, you can make a friend when you least expect to._

 _Heather and her Pokémon surprised us all in their own ways._

 _And our family just got a whole lot bigger._

* * *

 **You guys have no idea how long I have been waiting to write this! And this is probably the longest chapter by far! I tried not to rush it, and make sure that it was detailed and everything, but please let me know if you have an idea about how it could be better, and I can try to modify it if I can. Please review for this chapter, it'll make me so HAPPY!**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Thawfest

 **If you're wondering why Team Go-Getters is participating in a Viking event, it involves proving their true strength to everyone. And I can assure you that this year's competition will have some very surprising results!**

* * *

 _Every year on Berk, the Vikings come together to test their strength, endurance, and courage in the annual Thawfest games. But for a Go-Getter, it's...not such a great time of year._

 _In fact, I've lost every single time to Snotlout._

 _But this year, all that could change. This year, I actually have a chance to win. Because not only do I have my friends beside me, but for the first time ever, the Thawfest games will include..._

 _Dragons!_

* * *

"Exactly why does this competition have to be hosted every year?"

Snivels and the other Pokémon were decorating the Academy for the annual event, with the Servine becoming more and more annoyed with the concept of the Thawfest games.

"Obviously because the arrogant people on this island don't have any sensitivity," Kickin' Hawk replied as he finished tying up a banner. No sooner after he said that, three Hawlucha glided past him and landed on the floor of the Academy. Two of them were colored like he was, but the third one was mostly black and purple, with a hint of green. The three Hawlucha then engaged in some friendly combat, hitting each other with their Karate Chop attacks.

"Champion! Batalla! Roughneck!"

The three Pokémon looked up at the older Hawlucha. "We don't need the three of you getting rough with each other right now," Kickin' Hawk said, "We don't want to have to redecorate this place." The three Hawlucha sighed.

"Yes, father."

Blaze and Kickin' Hawk's eggs had hatched a few days ago, bearing three Torchic and three Hawlucha. The three Torchic, named Blister, Basan, and Asta, were back home with their mother, leaving Kickin' Hawk with the three Hawlucha. Batalla and Roughneck were both show-offs, but Champion was more like his father. He was a Shiny Pokémon, and he reminded Kickin' Hawk of his father, both in personality and coloring.

Hiccup was watching the ordeal with Toothless on the other side of the Academy. Astrid was nearby, practicing for the Thawfest events while Heather was experimenting with new mixtures with Ninjark. Snivels, meanwhile, was looking at some pity medals he'd found in Hiccup's satchel. "You know, last I checked, only the winner of Thawfest gets any medals. How'd you get these?"

"I made those," Hiccup replied, "To try and make myself feel better."

Amber looked doubtful as she read the writing that had been carved into some of the homemade medals Snivels was holding. "Make yourself feel better with these? 'Last place'? 'Nice try'?"

Palus happened to pass by and he grabbed another homemade medal, which had a carving of a human hand with the index finger up and the thumb to the side. "What about this one? First place!"

Blaze shook her head. "It means 'loser,' Palus." She made an L shape with her fingers on her forehead as an example.

The Marshtomp frowned and handed the medal back to Snivels. "Well, that's not very nice."

Amber turned to Hiccup. "But look on the bright side, Hiccup, this year you might take one home just like this!" She placed three claws on her forehead.

Hiccup looked confused at the gesture. "Third place?"

"No, winner," Amber explained, "It's a W."

There was a loud roar, and Hookfang came soaring into the Academy with Snotlout on his back. The arrogant boy dismounted his dragon. Around his neck were all of the Thawfest medals he had won.

"You know what I love the most about Thawfest?" Snotlout asked, glancing to see if the members of Team Go-Getters had any guesses.

"The arrogant idiots swaggering in uninvited with all their precious awards?" Snivels asked, his voice heavy with both sarcasm and anger.

And of course, Snotlout didn't get it. "Never seen one. Anyway, the part of Thawfest I love the most is winning! Wanna touch one of my medals, just to see what it feels like to be a winner?"

None of the members of Team Go-Getters volunteered.

Ignoring their silence, Snotlout proudly walked up to Hiccup. "My family has never lost a Thawfest game," the Viking bragged, "Ever."

Snivels and the other Pokémon all put in a pair of earplugs. They didn't want to have to listen to whatever the arrogant teen had to say.

Snotlout continued, "Dragons or no dragons, I'm going to do what I do every year - bring glory to my clan. And you, Useless, will do what you do - embarrass yours." That earned him a savage punch in the face from Astrid. Hookfang managed to catch his rider as he was knocked out from the blow, and the dragon quickly flew out of the arena.

"Was that really necessary?" Hiccup asked a very satisfied Astrid, who shrugged. "He deserved it," she said.

* * *

Later that evening, Hiccup went to the newly built forge near the Team Go-Getters home. He wanted to work on some new designs for Toothless's tail. He wanted to make sure he had a chance against Snotlout in the Thawfest games. He was nearly finished when Snivels arrived. "Kickin' Hawk and I were wondering if you had any thoughts about the wedding," the Servine said. Hiccup sighed. "I'll be there in a few minutes," he said.

After making some measurements for lighter equipment for Toothless's tail, Hiccup headed back home with his dragon friend following. Astrid was out training with Blaze while Heather was in her special lab testing potions. So the Pokémon were the only ones in the house when Hiccup got there. Laetio was looking at the drawings in Hiccup's sketchbook with Amber and Phoxie supervising him. The baby Noibat had found interest in the Go-Getter's drawings, especially the ones of Toothless and Astrid. Snivels and Kickin' Hawk were standing in the middle of the room, the Servine holding a notebook. They had been wanting to discuss the wedding with Hiccup, and he wanted to make sure he had something to take notes with.

Hiccup let Toothless run past him to join Laetio as the other Pokémon went upstairs to give the small group of planners some privacy.

"We figured that since it's your wedding, you should be in charge of the details," Snivels said as he got a charcoal pencil to write notes with.

Hiccup sighed. "Alright, but..." He paused before running off a list of requests for the wedding. "No exchanging of swords, no plunging the sword in a pillar or tree, no putting a hammer in Astrid's lap, no alcoholic drinks, no embarrassing speeches, no raiding an ancestor's grave..."

Snivels quickly wrote down every single detail of Hiccup's requests as he continued to ramble off the embarrassing Viking traditions.

* * *

Meanwhile, Snotlout had recovered from his earlier black-out. He started to head home, polishing his medals. "That talking fishbone's so gonna get it," he said, "Dragons or no dragons, he's gonna get crushed!"

Hookfang, who was following from behind, just snorted.

* * *

"...No purity baths, no long-lasting feast, and absolutely no public consummation!"

Hiccup took a breath, having finally gotten through the long list of everything he didn't want for his and Astrid's wedding.

"So basically you're ruling out anything that has to do with Viking tradition," Snivels said as he looked over the list.

"Yes! Exactly!" Hiccup exclaimed, "Let's try to keep as little..." He paused to try and find the right word to describe it. "...Viking-ish as possible!"

"That's what I was hoping," Kickin' Hawk muttered.

Hiccup sighed before trudging up the stairs. Snivels and Toothless wasted no time following their friend. Hiccup's Pokémon watched as their trainer sat down on his bed, with Toothless next to him, warbling nervously. Snivels approached his slumped-over friend with a concerned look on his face.

"You look depressed."

Hiccup sighed at his friend's comment. "I don't want to force Astrid into doing something she doesn't want to do," he said.

"Who said she didn't want to marry you?" Snivels asked.

"That's not exactly what I meant," Hiccup muttered.

"I'm sure she'll understand," Snivels said, "She knows you a whole lot better than she did the first time she got on Toothless."

Amber stepped forward. "We all know how you feel about her, Hiccup," she said.

Hiccup sighed and shook his head. "I just want her to be happy," he said.

There was the sound of a door opening and closing from downstairs, and Blaze came into the room. "You're back earlier than expected," Snivels said.

Blaze sighed as she spread a blanket out on the floor. "Yeah, we didn't want to train for too long or else we'd fall asleep at the games tomorrow."

"And that's definitely good enough of a reason to turn in for the night."

Hiccup turned to see Astrid standing in the doorway to the room.

Snivels slinked into the corner of the room, where Lockheed was waiting, and proceeded to curl around his Speed Stinger brother. "We were just talking about you, Astrid," he said.

Hiccup was about to facepalm when Toothless got up and walked to the side to make room for Astrid, who sat down next to her fiancé. "You think you can beat Snotlout?" she asked.

"With Toothless and Snivels? We can beat anyone," Hiccup said loyally.

"And us, too!" Amber added proudly.

Hiccup glanced at Astrid. "You alright?"

Astrid shrugged. "Everything's fine," she said, "Just a little upset knowing that it'll be another Thawfest game I lost starting tomorrow."

Snivels looked at her. "I can't believe you never actually won a Thawfest," he said, "I mean, you should have been dominating those courses!"

Hiccup nodded. "He's right. I find it hard to believe too."

Astrid gave him a small smile. "I appreciate the support," she said.

Hiccup smiled back and took her hand in his. "You know I'll always be here to support you, right?"

Astrid nodded. "I know." She then leaned in and kissed him tenderly.

Lockheed made a gagging sound and turned away. Snivels chuckled. "You'll get used to it," he said. No sooner after he said that, the two lovebirds pulled apart.

Hiccup sighed. "We need to get some rest," he said.

"Especially if we want to win tomorrow," Snivels added.

Toothless rejoined Hiccup, warbling happily. Hiccup could tell that he was just as confident as the rest of them for the start of the Thawfest competition.

* * *

The members of Team Go-Getters were all up bright and early that morning, getting ready for the games to start. They were in the arena before the sun was up, preparing themselves for the event. Heather had stayed up nearly the entire night preparing some drinks meant to strengthen the abilities of the Pokémon. However, the Pokémon politely turned down the offer. If there was anything they wanted to prove, it was how strong they were as one.

The members of Team Go-Getters were pretty pumped up by the time everyone else arrived at the Academy. But the first three events didn't work out so well for them.

As one of the announcers, Mulch proclaimed, "The contestants are now lining up for the Sheep Lug! The rules are simple - just hoist the sheep onto your shoulders and run to the finish line on the other side of the stadium!"

"It's a good day for lugging sheep, Mulch," added Bucket, the other commentator.

"Oh, Bucket," laughed Mulch. The horn he put to his mouth to amplify his voice let it carry. " _Every_ day's a good day for lugging sheep!" His Sandslash and Bucket's Slowbro had to cover their ears from the volume of the shout.

Gobber walked along the starting line where the teens were standing, placing large sheep on each of their backs. Only Snotlout didn't see to have any trouble holding onto his livestock.

"On your mark..." called Mulch. "Get set..."

An audible, clanging ring echoed across the arena as Mulch struck Bucket's head with his hook, signaling the start of the event.

Everyone took off at a run, Snotlout quickly and effortlessly taking the lead. Hiccup was quickly eliminated, and had to have Heather help him get the sheep off his shoulders. The twins abandoned the race after taking a mere five steps, when Tuff bumped into his sister and provoked a violent reaction. Soon, they were brawling off to the side, and a sheep flew into Fishlegs's path and tripped him. Only Astrid and Snotlout made it to the finish line, the Jorgenson pulling ahead first.

The Pokémon Go-Getters watching had to learn the hard way that no points were given to second place finishers.

Hiccup slumped and gave up his attempts to get out from under his sheep. All of a sudden, the woolly grazer's weight disappeared from his back, and Astrid's hand appeared in front of him. Gratefully, Hiccup took it and thanked her for helping him. He then turned to the scoreboard and sighed sadly - a long black line had been painted next to a crudely drawn portrait of Snotlout, bringing him to the lead.

A half hour later, after the adults had finished setting up the arena for the next event, the teens were all perched on a giant log held up by two supporters, positioned above a bed of hard but not dangerous gravel.

"Next is the traditional Log Roll event!" Mulch shouted into his horn. "The last one standing on the log is the winner!"

Snotlout snickered. "Enjoy your face plant, losers."

The signal to start was given, and while the noise was still fading, the contestants all began to run in place on the log, which caused it to spin increasingly faster. And the event itself spun out of control just as quickly.

Heather was the first to go down, falling off almost as soon as the log started rolling. Then Ruff and Tuff tripped, ending up rolling with the log until their own momentum launched them into the far wall. Fishlegs stepped on empty air and fell off the log headfirst. Hiccup's prosthetic caught in a groove on the log, and he ended up falling on top of the big wooden cylinder before being flung to the ground. Once again, it was just Astrid and Snotlout. Just when everyone thought she was going to win, Astrid suddenly slipped and fell right off, leaving Snotlout the victor.

The third event took place almost an hour later, since the adults had to set it up and then wait for the twins to wake up from their violent expulsion from the Log Roll. Stacks of barrels were set up about three quarters across the arena, opposite the cages on the back wall. The top-most barrels lay on their sides, with targets painted on their lids. The teens had axes with them, ready to send them flying at the targets.

"Next is the weapon toss!" Mulch proclaimed helpfully. "In this event, the contestants will try to hit the targets with their axe! Remember, accuracy is everything!"

The contestants didn't need telling twice. On the sound of the ring, they launched into action.

Poor Fishlegs didn't get his axe anywhere near his target. Ruff and Tuff hurled their axes at the same time, and they both missed the targets spectacularly. Heather didn't have much experience with axes, so her aim was way off. Hiccup's aim was true, but thanks to a lack of physical strength, his axe landed short of the target. Astrid managed to hit her target, but not close enough to beat Snotlout, who got a bulls-eye.

The next, and final, event of the day was the Pokémon battle portion. The rules were simple: whoever came out on top would earn a point for the Thawfest. Heather was put up against Fishlegs, and she easily beat him and his Lombre, Pad, with her Chespin, Captain's, Pin Missile.

Hiccup was put in a Double Battle against the twins, but with the twins, Bonnie, and Clyde quarreling with each other, it was an easy win.

Things were going smoothly until Astrid and Snotlout's battle. Dragonfly managed to out-maneuver Heat, and hit him with a Dragon Breath and a super-effective Bulldoze. But this battle had been ruled as a two-on-two match, and things went downhill after Heat was knocked out and Snotlout had to send in Vengeance. The Salamence was initially interested in battling, until Dragonfly switched with Palus.

"We gotta win this!" Snotlout shouted. Vengeance shot him a glare before stomping on the ground twice and flapping his wings, sending Palus hurling back. But the Marshtomp got right up and ran in to attack.

"Palus, stop!"

Surprised by his trainer's shout, Palus looked up to see Vengeance lying on the ground. Skidding to a stop, Palus stared in shock at the Salamence. Mulch, who was announcing the events, was also shocked.

"It looks like...it looks like Salamence is taking a nap!"

Snotlout was mad. "Vengeance, you can't just quit in the middle of my most important battle ever!" Vengeance paid no attention to the Viking, he just yawned. Snotlout was steamed now. "Vengeance, get off your lazy butt and battle RIGHT NOW!"

The crowd, unhappy with the boring results, protested loudly.

"What is this?!"

"We came here to see a Pokémon battle!"

"Get serious!"

Vengeance ignored them as well, tucking his head into his wing and continuing to sleep.

The other members of Team Go-Getters were watching above the arena. "I knew it," Hiccup muttered, "Vengeance still won't listen to Snotlout."

"But he seemed interested at first," Heather said, observingly.

Kickin' Hawk looked up at her. "He might have thought that Vibrava, a Dragon-type like himself, was a worthy adversary. But he doesn't want to bother battling with a Marshtomp."

It wasn't long before the referee had to declare Astrid the winner of the battle, seeing how uninterested Vengeance was in battling. Snotlout, of course, was not happy with the results. He had just needed one more point to win the Thawfest games, and he had lost it. Fuming, he left the arena with Heat following, leaving Vengeance napping in the middle of the Academy.

It took nearly an hour for Vengeance to finally wake up and leave the arena, leaving just enough time for the final battles. It was Heather against Hiccup, with Astrid battling the winner. Since Heather didn't have as much battle experience, Hiccup was able to beat her. That meant he had to battle Astrid. Not that he was worried, he just knew it wouldn't be that easy.

And he was right.

Hiccup and Astrid had agreed to use three Pokémon each, but that didn't mean it would be a dull battle.

The first matchup was Palus versus Amber. The Flame Pokémon tried an Attract, but it was countered by Palus's Ice Beam. However, Amber managed to hit Palus with Flamethrower. Palus tried a Hydro Pump, which Amber countered with Dragon Rage. The moves canceled each other out, covering the area in smoke. A quick strike from the Charmeleon's Slash scored a huge hit, knocking Palus out.

Xylia went next, confusing Amber with her Quick Attack and hitting her with Leaf Blade. Amber tried to slow the Grovyle down with Flamethrower, but Xylia dodged it with ease and finished the Charmeleon off with Brick Break.

Tito was up next, using his small size to his advantage, dodging Xylia's attacks. He managed to shock her with his Thundershock, but the attack wasn't strong enough to do a lot of damage. Tito did manage to dodge Xylia's Brick Break and jump on her head, hitting her with Parabolic Charge and restoring his energy. Unable to shake off the Helioptile, Xylia was hit repeatedly with Electric attacks until she could take no more, collapsing to the ground in a heap.

It was no surprise to Hiccup when Astrid sent in Blaze. He knew she'd be saving her number one partner for last. He commanded Tito to use Quick Attack, which the Helioptile did. Blaze tried to hit him with Flamethrower, but he was moving too fast. However, Blaze dodged Tito's attack at the last second, leaving the Helioptile shocked and confused. Hiccup had nearly forgotten that Blaze's Ability was Speed Boost, which increased her speed whenever she was in battle. He managed to help Tito evade another Flamethrower by using Dig, but the little Helioptile was blasted out of the ground when Blaze used Sky Uppercut on the battlefield. All it took was another hit from Sky Uppercut to send the Helioptile flying. Hiccup managed to catch Tito before he hit the wall of the arena, but the little Pokémon had had too much. He was out of the match.

Now it was Blaze against Snivels. The Blaziken had the clear advantage, but the Servine was stronger than he looked. Following their trainers' commands, Blaze charged in with Sky Uppercut while Snivels countered with Cut. The moves seemed evenly matched, so they fired back with Blaze Kick and Leaf Blade. Again, the moves were evenly matched. Next was Snivels's Leaf Tornado and Blaze's Brave Bird. The moves seemed evenly matched once again until Blaze cut through the Leaf Tornado and scored a direct hit on the Servine. Both Pokémon charged in with Blaze Kick and Leaf Blade, both attacks hitting their targets head-on. Snivels then struck back with Cut, but Black endured the attack and scored a direct hit with Sky Uppercut. Both Pokémon had taken quite a bit of damage, but Snivels was in trouble. He was exhausted from the attacks he had taken, and he looked like he was about to collapse.

But the battle wasn't over.

Snivels was surrounded by a green aura, and his eyes snapped open. His Overgrow had been activated.

Heather and Kickin' Hawk had been watching the battle from above the arena, and were amazed at what was taking place. "Reaching the absolute limits has actually brought out one of Snivels's greatest strengths," Kickin' Hawk said, "That must have been what Hiccup was going for all along."

Snivels stood up and smirked at Blaze. The battle was just beginning. Blaze smiled.

" _Blaziken._ "

Astrid nodded. "I know, Blaze. It feels good to battle opponents who are that strong."

Hearing what she said, Hiccup smiled. "Good, cause we're just getting warmed up."

" _Servine!_ "

Hiccup knew what Snivels meant. Their next moves would decide the battle. They would do this together, as a team.

"Blaze, use Flamethrower!"

"Snivels, use Solar Beam!"

Both Pokémon charged up their strongest attacks before releasing all the energy, the attacks colliding and canceling each other out. The powerful energy from the attacks was creating a huge surge of power, nearly blowing all who were watching the battle out of their seats. There was a huge blast, and a thick layer of smoke covered the arena as the beams of energy exploded. The smoke lifted to reveal Snivels and Blaze panting heavily, their bodies dirty and bruised from the battle. After a few minutes of silence and anticipation, both Snivels and Blaze collapsed to the ground, their eyes swirling with dizziness.

They were both out of the match.

It had all ended in a draw.

It wasn't long after the referee declared the battle to be a draw when Hiccup ran over and knelt down to pick Snivels up off the ground. The weary Servine opened his eyes to see his trainer smiling at him. "You were amazing, Snivs," Hiccup said, "You deserve a long rest." Snivels gave his friend a small smile.

On the other side of the arena, Astrid was helping Blaze stand up. "You did great out there," Astrid said. Blaze opened her eyes and gave a slight nod.

"Who knew the match would end like this," Heather muttered from above the arena.

"I had a feeling it would," Kickin' Hawk replied. He gazed down at the two Go-Getters as they helped their Pokémon out of the arena.

"They're both just as strong."

* * *

Hiccup sighed as he returned from the dragon stables, with Toothless following behind him. They both entered their home, and Hiccup shut the door and leaned against it.

"Back so soon?"

Hiccup turned to see Ninjark leaning against the wall. Hiccup sighed. "We're running a bit low on dragon and Pokémon food," he said. Ninjark shrugged. "I'm not that hungry anyway," he said. "How are Snivels and Blaze?" Hiccup asked, hoping to change the subject. "Heather's healing elixir did them good," Ninjark replied, "They still need lots of rest, though." Hiccup turned his gaze to Lockheed, who was playing with Ruido, Onpa, and Laetio.

"What about the youngsters?"

"I'll put them to bed soon," Ninjark replied, heading upstairs where Snivels and Blaze were resting, all bandaged up and their skin glistening with healing ointment. With Snivels being relatively smaller, the medicine was doing fast work on him, as he was able to stand up and walk around by the time the sun had set.

Hours later, Snivels felt a tug on his tail. He woke up to see Vigor and Laetio looking at him urgently. Feeling better than he did hours ago, Snivels sat up and looked around the room. Everyone else was asleep, which was no surprise, being as late as it was. But Laetio always stayed up to practice flying, with Vigor accompanying him. For some reason, the Shiny Noibat never got the hang of flying.

Taking an extra few minutes to remove his bandages, Snivels got up and followed the young Pokémon down the stairs. The next thing he knew, the two Dragon-Types were leading him to the Academy. The three companions stopped at the entry gates. "Come on, guys," Snivels said, "No one's supposed to be out here this late..." He stopped talking when he heard a noise coming from inside the Academy. He pressed himself up against the wall and peeked in to see Snotlout and Heat in the arena, fiddling with some of the event props. Snotlout turned to look at his Magmar.

"Go finish wiping the butter off the log, and then come help me rig the dragon events. No way am I gonna start losing the Thawfest now!"

Heat nodded before grabbing a wet cloth and scrubbing the log for the Log Roll.

Snivels pulled his head back, his eyes wide. "Snotlout's cheating! No wonder he was competing so well!" He turned to see Vengeance lying on the other side of the entry to the arena. "How long has he been doing this?" Snivels asked quietly.

Vengeance turned to look at him. " _From what I've heard, that big arrogant oaf has been doing it since his first Thawfest,_ " he said.

Realizing that Snotlout's victories had been dishonest, Snivels shot a glare at the Viking teen, who had not noticed he was being watched. Snivels, Vigor, and Laetio waited until Snotlout and Heat left before going into the arena. "We gotta un-rig the events!" Snivels exclaimed.

The hurdle event had been propped up so that it was taller, so Snotlout could fit under it; and there were hidden crossbows and traps in the Fly and Shoot and all around the arena for the Freestyle.

The Axe Toss targets had been propped up higher as well, except for Snotlout's, to making hitting the targets harder, there had been butter on certain parts of the Log Roll to make it slippery, and the sheep had hidden weights in their wool to make them heavier for the other competitors. How Heat managed to sneak those rigs past the Vikings assembling the events was a mystery even Snivels couldn't solve.

Luckily, Snivels was able to sniff out all of the rigs in the events and dispose of them with Vigor and Laetio's help. It was almost midnight when they finally got rid of the final trap for the events, but they didn't care. After putting the last crossbow in the barrel they were using to collect the evidence, Snivels started to carry it out of the arena. He looked back at Vigor and Laetio.

"Come on, guys! I bet we can handle Snotface now!"

Vigor and Laetio exchanged matching glances of excitement and determination before following their friend home.

* * *

 **Surprise! Snotlout's a big fat cheater! Which, of course, would explain why Astrid never won a Thawfest event. And the little Magmar was in on it too!**

 **Any idea what a suitable punishment would be for the nasty little liar? Either way, you'll have to wait for the next chapter for it!**

 **Also, given that the Pokémon battle between Astrid and Hiccup ended in a draw, how should the points be given out?**

 **Review please!**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Win or Lose

 **Snivels: I don't know about you guys, but I'm really interested in seeing what happens to Snotface! You know what we say, varieties of victory...**

 **Amber: But cheaters never prosper.**

 **Snivels: By the way, I wonder if that pokemaster guy is looking forward to my evolution as much as I am. I _am_ going to be the Pokémon King, after all. I wonder if we ever will have to save all the Legendary Pokémon? And I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to finally meeting Fjord.**

 **Blaze: Can we just start the second half of the episode already?!**

 **Snivels: Yes, yes we can.**

* * *

The members of Team Go-Getters were once again the first ones to reach the arena the next morning. Snivels, Vigor, and Laetio were still a bit tired from the night before, but they knew that their trainers would have a better chance against Snotlout now that the events were no longer rigged. He had informed Kickin' Hawk of this discovery, and they agreed to reveal the truth at the right time, which would be when Snotlout felt the most determined. The dragons also seemed to be looking forward to the second half of the event.

Not long after the Vikings all arrived at the arena, the outcome of the Pokémon battle event was determined, with both Hiccup and Astrid receiving one point each. Hiccup was quiet honestly stunned by this decision. He had never gotten even one point in Thawfest, which made it even more surprising. Astrid noticed Hiccup's shocked expression and smiled.

"How does it feel to get your first Thawfest points?"

Hiccup jumped at the sound of her voice, but he didn't hesitate. "It doesn't really feel that much different," he said calmly.

It was then that Snotlout approached. "Good, because you're still gonna get your scrawny butt kicked once I win all the dragon events," the arrogant boy boasted.

Snivels rolled his eyes. "Liar, liar, _pantalones del fuego_ ," he muttered.

Snotlout glared at him. "I didn't ask for your opinion, freak!"

Snivels glared right back at him. "I'm starting to think you're not aware of the disadvantage you're at here," he said. Glancing at Hiccup, the Servine asked, " _¿Dónde están los dragones bebé?_ "

Hiccup hesitated before answering, " _Están de vuelta en la casa._ "

Snotlout looked totally stunned.

Snivels flashed his trainer a proud grin. " _Muy bien, mi amigo._ "

It didn't take long for the Vikings to set up the Thawfest dragon events. Of course, Snotlout thought that the events were still rigged from the night before. And boy, was he going to be proven wrong.

The first event was the Hurdles. A series of logs, set up similarly to the one during the previous day's log roll event, that were lined up across the academy, leading out the gate.

"Hurdles, shmurdles," Snotlout said dismissively. "I could make it over those things in my sleep."

"You don't go _over_ them," Astrid corrected, "You go _under_ them."

For a moment, the arrogant Jorgenson just glared. "I knew that," he finally muttered.

The signal to start was given, and all of the Pokémon watching outside the arena leaned in, eager to see what would happen. Fishlegs and Meatlug went first, the Gronckle approached the first hurdle, picking up speed with her small wings - and then ended up stuck underneath it. The abrupt halt nearly made Fishlegs fly off the saddle.

"Uh, guys, a little help over here!" he groaned, then said to Meatlug, "Don't worry, girl, this just isn't our event."

The Thorston twins were up next. The pair did alright until one of the Zippleback heads went over one of the hurdles, and the sudden halt caused the twins to fly off their dragon's necks and into the audience.

Heather went next, using Buck as a rental, as she was still looking for the "right dragon." She and Buck did well at first, until the overexcited Grapple Grounder accidentally bumped his tail on a few of the hurdles.

Astrid and Stormfly did great, but when they neared the end, Astrid bumped her head on one of the hurdles. Hiccup had to force himself not to fly over and ask if she was okay.

Snotlout flew right past the concerned Night Fury rider on Hookfang as they started their turn on the hurdles. Just as Snivels and Kickin' Hawk had predicted, Snotlout ended up banging his head on every single one of the hurdles.

Now it was time for Hiccup and Toothless to try it. Shortly after the Night Fury shot forward toward the hurdles, Hiccup clicked the stirrup, and Toothless flipped upside down. They streaked under each of the hurdles like that, and they didn't even miss a single one.

A perfect run.

Snotlout watched in disbelief as Hiccup and Toothless landed outside the arena with the rest of the riders. "Did you guys see that?" Hiccup asked, "A perfect run! I just realized something - I like beating Snotlout. I feel taller, am I taller? Never mind, don't answer that."

It didn't take long for the other members of Team Go-Getters to notice that Hiccup was acting more giddy than normal. And he was gloating too. Snivels glanced at Kickin' Hawk, who shrugged. "He'll come around once the truth is out," he said, "It's Snotlout he wants to beat, after all."

Speaking of...

"Don't get too excited," snapped Snotlout, swooping in aboard Hookfang. He held up a finger and continued, "You know what this is? The number of wins I need to end this thing. And you know what _this_ is?" he added, holding up a second finger. "The number of chances I have."

Holding his hand in a position that resembled the "okay" gesture, Hiccup shot back, "Well, you know what this is? The size of your brain. No wait," he corrected, shrinking the circle he had made with his fingers. "Yeah, that's much better."

Snivels had to admit that was funny. But probably not how he would have gone about it...

Astrid had also witnessed Hiccup's odd behavior, and she didn't like it at all.

The next event was ready not too long after the adults finished clearing the hurdles from the stadium floor. This time, there were no props involved, except for a table cast off to the side where three Vikings sat down at. It was their job to be the judges and give each contestant a score based on their performance.

"Yes, that's right!" Mulch shouted into his horn. "Next, we have the Freestyle event! Riders and their dragons will show off their style and abilities in order to impress our three judges!" He waved his hook at them, and they stood up and bowed to the spectators.

The twins were up first, and the rest of the riders stood right outside the academy as they waited for their turn. The trick the duo had chosen to perform was a risky one - Ruffnut on her brother's shoulders while Tuffnut had a boot on each head of their Zippleback.

"Check this one out!" the female twin called.

"We call it 'the Iron Split'!" her brother finished.

Right after he said that, Barf and Belch separates their heads ever so slightly, and Tuffnut ended up falling with his feet still stuck out to the sides. Snivels and quite a few other Pokémon looked away at the sound of ripping fabric. The judges gave the twins a measly two out of nine.

Next was Fishlegs and Meatlug. "We call this next feat of daring 'the Extreme Butterfly'!" Leave it to the Ingerman to make a cool name out of a harmless insect that could never give you nightmares. He and Meatlug soared in ever-tightening circles around the arena. Gronckles weren't really made for such graceful maneuverability, though, and poor Meatlug was soon unable to keep up with the speed of her increasingly sharp turns. Out of control in moments, they spun off into a corner.

"It's alright, girl," Fishlegs muttered. "This just isn't our event, either."

Heather and Buck weren't expecting a lot of progress on their part. And they had reason to worry. The raven-haired girl attempted to walk the Grapple Grounder's tail like a plank while he was flying, but ended up falling off. Surprisingly, Buck managed to catch her with the very appendage she'd been treading upon moments ago. Their performance earned them a score of five out of nine. Good, but not great.

Astrid was next in line, impressing the crowd, and her fellow Go-Getters, with a series of acrobatics from Stormfly's back, while the Deadly Nadder soared in circles on careful wings. Her feat earned her an awesome eight out of nine points.

"It's amazing how she makes it look so easy," Snivels mused. He looked up at Blaze. "Can you do that?"

The Blaziken shrugged. "Not nearly as good as she can, but yeah."

Hiccup went next. He and Toothless shot right out of the arena and into the sky from a standstill, then wheeled out into the ocean before performing a power dive at a sharp, descending angle. As they neared a rock spire jutting up out of the ocean relatively close to the academy, Hiccup clicked the stirrup and sent him and the Night Fury veering upwards, coming up over the tall rock with a series of aerial somersaults. They leveled out after they completed the fifth one, and landed safely on the floor.

They got a perfect score.

Now that everyone had finished their tricks and received their scores, it was Snotlout's turn to show what he and Hookfang were made of. While the overconfident Jorgenson got himself into position, Snivels and Kickin' Hawk started conversing with each other.

"Should we tell them now?" the Servine asked.

Knowing full well what he was asking about, Kickin' Hawk shook his head. "Soon."

All eyes were on Snotlout as he signaled Hookfang to ignite the immense wooden rings that had been erected in the arena. The Monstrous Nightmare's fire latched onto all the rings and set them alight with leaping orange flames.

But even a Stoker Class dragon could be afraid of his own flames.

Sadly, that was a lesson Snotlout ended up learning the hard way. As they neared the burning rings, Hookfang emitted a panicked roar at the sight of the flames looming closer and closer, and completely lost it. He pulled up, wings frantically flapping in an effort to get away from what lay ahead of him. However, Monstrous Nightmares were entirely built for a life of fancy flying like some other dragons, and he ended up slamming right into the obstacle course. Everything tumbled apart in a huge pile of fire and smoke and wood, which Snotlout came running out of, his pants up in flames.

Snivels flashed him a smug grin from above the arena. "Liar, liar, _pantalones del fuego!_ "

Kickin' Hawk chuckled at the Servine's comment as Snotlout jumped into a nearby trough of water. While the arena was being cleared, Snotlout picked himself out of he water trough and stared in anger at the scoreboard. Hiccup was one point away from beating him, and there was only one event left. He had been sure that the events were rigged enough to guarantee him an easy win.

Hiccup noticed his cousin glaring at the scoreboard and approached him after glancing at Spitelout. "Wow, Snotlout, your dad looks really mad right now."

Snotlout glanced at his father, who was shaking his head at him. "What do you know, Useless?" he said rudely, "He always looks like that! Do you really think you have a shot at beating me?"

Hiccup pretended to think before replying, "As a matter of fact, I do have a shot at beating you. Think about it, Snotlout. Or, if that gives you a headache, let me tell you. Toothless is a Night Fury, and I'm the best rider on Berk. How could I possibly lose?"

"Because that's what you do!" Snotlout shouted, "I win and you lose!"

Hiccup shook his head. "Check the scoreboard, Snotlout. Not anymore."

Fuming, the arrogant teenage Viking stomped off, his fists clenched, muttering incomprehensible gibberish to himself.

Astrid had witnessed almost the entire argument, and she had plenty of reasons to be disappointed with her fiancé. "What was all that about?" she asked, not trying to hide her disappointment.

Hiccup shrugged. "Just rattling cages," he said.

Astrid scoffed. "Since when do you 'rattle cages'?" she asked, quoting his excuse. Hiccup didn't have the time to answer, as the next event was beginning to take place.

As the riders lined up for the last event, the Fly-and-Shoot, Snivels glanced at Kickin' Hawk. "Now?" the Servine asked, almost in determination.

Kickin' Hawk gave him a quick nod of confirmation. "Now."

Smiling, Snivels grabbed the barrel of evidence from the night before, and the two of them headed up to Mulch, Bucket, Sandslash, and Slowbro on the announcement deck.

The Fly-and-Shoot was an event that involved wooden effigies of either Outcasts or a Pokémon. It was the dragons' job to shoot the Outcasts, and the riders were supposed to point out what they shouldn't destroy. Everyone did decently well, but there were a few mistakes made. Toothless and Hiccup were the only ones that made it out with a perfect score.

When it was Snotlout's turn, Hookfang accidentally blasted a sack of flour, causing the white powder to blind him. With his eyes stinging painfully, the Monstrous Nightmare ended up setting fire to the entire event.

Not long after the event had ended, everyone was waiting for Mulch to announce the results to see who had won. But what they heard instead was a great surprise to all.

"Everyone, we, uh, have an announcement. Snotlout Jorgenson has been disqualified!"

Everyone who had heard him gasped. A few of them were angry, but many were confused. Spitelout and Snotlout were downright furious. Hiccup looked up toward the announcement deck and saw Kickin' Hawk grab Mulch's horn and speak into it.

"Rigging the events to toughen the competition for the other competitors is cause for elimination!"

Snivels then ran down to the arena at lightning-fast speed, carrying the barrel of traps that he had recovered from the night before. He paused to make sure he had everyone's attention before dumping out the contents of the barrel. Even Stoick was shocked to see the tools Snotlout had used to rig all of the Thawfest events. Snotlout glared at the Servine, angry that he had blown his cover. It didn't take long for Stoick to get over his shock, as he approached Snotlout with a stony scowl. "Is this true, Snotlout?" the chief asked.

Snotlout shot Snivels another glare before muttering, "Yes."

"He's been doing it since his first Thawfest," Snivels said.

Spitelout heard what the Servine said, and cast his son a very intense glare.

"I want you to give me all of the medals that you have earned from the Thawfest games," Stoick said, "You are a disgrace to this competition, and your family name."

Snotlout's look of anger briefly turned to a look of shock before he frowned and held his head. "Yes, sir," he grumbled.

Seeing that his determination to beat Snotlout in the Thawfest events had been unnecessary, and the realization of how boastful and careless he had been earlier made Hiccup snap back to his real self.

Stoick continued to scold Snotlout as the Jorgenson boy handed over all of the medals he had "won" from Thawfest. "As punishment," Stoick said angrily, "You are to clean the yak stalls every day for each week per medal you have won."

Hiccup stepped forward. "Hang on, Dad," he said before turning his attention to his cousin. "Snotlout," he paused before asking, "Is proving that you are single-handedly better than everyone else on Berk so important that you would rather win by cheating than lose with honesty?"

The other members of Team Go-Getters could tell from Hiccup's tone of voice that he was back to normal.

Snotlout, on the other hand, wasn't so happy about Hiccup's question. "First off, I don't really get the purpose of your question. Second, I know I'm better than eveyone else. The problem is they don't realize it. And if it hadn't been for your stupid snake, I'd still have all of my medals right now. So back off and shut up!" With that, he shoved Hiccup hard, causing him to fall backwards onto the hard floor of the arena. Everyone gasped, surprised at what had just occurred.

Snotlout suddenly felt his arm being painfully pinned behind his back. He looked over his shoulder to see Astrid giving him a death glare. "Listen, Snotface," Astrid said through gritted teeth, "No one does physical harm to Hiccup except me, got it?"

Angry and greatly humiliated, Snotlout somehow managed to pull himself out of her grasp and started to make his way toward the exit. But he failed to notice Blaze and Xylia waiting for him to walk by. Once he was past them, they both grabbed onto his pants and pulled on them forcefully. There was a loud ripping sound, and Snivels started singing.

" _I see Heatmor and Durant, I see Snotlout's underpants!_ "

Snotlout stiffened and looked over his shoulder to find the back of his pants badly torn, his underwear hanging out for all to see. Doing his best to cover up his exposed undies, Snotlout tried to throw insults at his rivals, but he was too furious and embarrassed to form words, and ended up muttering incomprehensible gibberish. He eventually gave up and stomped off with a glare that could have silenced a Thunderdrum, or even an Exploud. He stopped when he was outside the arena. "Someday those freaks will pay for this," he grumbled, "Even if I have to beat them into the ground!" There was a growl, and Snotlout glanced behind him to see Vengeance, angrier than he'd ever been before. His look of anger was replaced with one of total fear.

"Mommy?"

Kickin' Hawk started to approach the arena, but stopped when he heard scratching, biting, and screaming. A few seconds later, Snotlout ran past him, covered with bite marks and scratches, with a look of terror on his face. Kickin' Hawk was about to question it when he heard a grunt. He turned to see Venegeance giving his former trainer an angry look. The Salamence snorted before turning around, lifting his tail, and walking off.

Kickin' Hawk looked thoughtful.

* * *

It wasn't that much later when the members of Team Go-Getters were finally able to relax at home. Because of Snotlout's attempts to eliminate the other competitors, Stoick declared Astrid the winner by default, meaning that she and Hiccup would compete the following morning in a tiebreaker race. Snotlout would be cleaning the yak stalls starting the following morning as well.

As for Vengeance, he had left Berk, with advice from Kickin' Hawk, and joined the Resistance. He had put up with Snotlout and the Vikings for too long, and had decided it was time for him to join in the revolution.

Hiccup hadn't been able to forgive himself for the way he had been acting, and he didn't expect Astrid to forgive him either. Heather noticed that Hiccup was sitting alone, and was looking rather depressed, and decided to try and talk to him. She barely got within five feet from him when he spoke to her.

"I don't know what came over me back there, I guess I was so excited about finally having a chance to win the Thawfest games that I let my success go to my head. I'm sorry."

Kickin' Hawk approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It can happen to anyone," he said, "You just have to remember that there's more than one way to win a competition."

Heather nodded in agreement. "We all know you didn't mean it, Hiccup," she said, "Anyone could be that boastful about besting someone like Snotlout. I know I would have."

"But Snotlout wasn't competing fairly," Hiccup said, "He had been cheating the entire time. And I ended up being someone I wasn't because I didn't know that." He paused before muttering, "Astrid probably won't ever talk to me again."

Heather was temporarily surprised by this, but she came over it rather quickly. "I'm pretty sure she won't just stop talking to you," she said.

"Wouldn't you if your boyfriend - slash - fiancé was behaving like that in the arena?" Hiccup asked.

Heather sighed. "Okay, you know as well as I do that I'm not an expert on love. And I mean the kind of love you have for Astrid. But I do know that if you're so afraid that she'll never talk to you again that you avoid her, then that will guarantee she'll never talk to you again."

Snivels had been listening nearby while trying to teach Laetio how to read. He gave Heather a look of surprise and impression.

"Wow."

Kickin' Hawk was also impressed. "She's right."

Hiccup gave him a look of shock. "What?! Now you're on her side?"

Kickin' Hawk sighed and looked up at his friend. "Talk to Astrid. There's no reason for her to not forgive you."

Hiccup thought for a minute before realizing that the Hawlucha was right. He nodded before standing up and leaving to look for Astrid. It didn't take him long to find her, since their special clearing was not too far from the place where all of the dragons were kept.

Hiccup had expected Astrid to be practicing with her axe, but instead found her sitting on a rock near the edge of the clearing. She was holding the ring Hiccup had given her in her hand, examining it closely, almost as if she was reconsidering her earlier decision. But Hiccup knew Astrid better than that. He hesitated slightly before joining Astrid on the rock.

"Listen," he said, "About the way I was behaving back there, I honestly don't know what came over me. I mean, I guess I was disappointed that Snotlout always seemed to be the best at all those events, and the fact that I actually had a chance to beat him caused me to behave irrationally. I never should have acted that way, and I'm sorry."

Astrid listened to him the whole time, and promptly slid the ring back on her finger before replying. "I don't blame you," she said, "Snotlout pretty much fooled everyone with all that cheating. For I while, I actually thought he was better than me at Thawfest."

Hiccup breathed a laugh before taking her hand in his own. "No one could be better than you at Thawfest," he said, "In fact, I don't think anyone could be better than you at anything."

Astrid gave him a grateful smile. Hiccup couldn't help but grin. "I mean it," he said, "You deserved to have those medals given to you. If Snotlout hadn't been...cheating, then you would have won them fair and square. And that draw in the battle portion? I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Knowing that we're equally strong actually gives me confidence. If we have the strength to stand up to one another, think of what we can do together, against all our enemies."

Hearing her fiancé say all that made Astrid's smile widen. "You know what I always liked about you, Hiccup?" She didn't give him a chance to answer before she finished. "You were always a gracious loser. And you've just proven that you can be an even more gracious winner."

Hiccup smiled back at her, giving her hand a loving squeeze. They both leaned in until their lips were only an inch apart...

"Hey, guys. Am I interrupting anything?"

The two Go-Getters snapped out of their trance and turned to see Blaze leaning against a tree, flashing them a smug grin. Astrid gave her a look that said "really?" Blaze chuckled. "Heather and Kickin' Hawk asked me to retrieve you two lovebirds before dinner got cold," she said.

"Well, would it kill you to give me at least ten minutes alone with my fiancé?" Astrid asked, annoyed. Hiccup blushed bright red at that.

"Well, you guys are supposed to race against each other tomorrow," Blaze said, matter-of-factly. "So unless you can win by being the first to kiss the other, I don't really think that stuff is going to get you anywhere fast."

Astrid scoffed. "At least give us a little time together before the race, will you?"

The Blaziken shrugged, still flashing them a smug grin.

"She's probably right," Hiccup said, hiding the disappointment in his voice from the moment being ruined. "We should get going. Not that I think we shouldn't be doing stuff like this, but..."

Astrid held up her hand, silencing him. "We'll take a break and go eat," she said.

The time after that was pretty much uneventful. Hiccup and Astrid knew each other enough to know what to expect from the other during the race the next morning. With a basket full of roasted chicken for Stormfly, and new modifications to Toothless's prosthetic tail that would help him fly faster, there was no doubt that the race would be anything but boring.

* * *

Hiccup wasn't as nervous as he thought he would be when he arrived at the arena the next day. But he hadn't yet decided whether to let Astrid win, or to win it himself. He had thought about it a lot, and although he had done much to earn his friends' pride, he was also worried about his Viking father. He'd have to cross that bridge once he got there, though, because when he had finished setting up the equipment for Toothless's tailfin, it was nearly time to start the race. He had just told Toothless to wait for him on top of one of the cliffs when he noticed Astrid standing nearby.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because I've already gotten a lot of medals already."

Hiccup just smiled at her. "I wouldn't expect anything else from you," he said, holding out his hand for a handshake, "May the best Go-Getter win." After making sure that Hiccup wasn't boasting again, Astrid took his hand and gave it a firm shake.

All of the other members of Team Go-Getters were watching above the arena, including Blaze and Kickin' Hawk's children. Snivels had also brought Lockheed along with him. The Speed Stinger dragonet was almost as eager to see the race as the Servine was.

It was an obstacle course race, starting at the arena, them moving into a log dodge and cliff climbing, with the dragons waiting at the top of the cliff for their riders. Once they were on the dragons, they were to loop around a Viking flagship anchored off the coast, spiral through the sea stack maze, and head back to the arena. The first to fly past the finish line in the arena would be the winner.

Snivels and Blaze watched with interest as their trainers took their places at the starting line. Before they knew it, Mulch clanged his hook against Bucket's bucket-hat, and their trainers took off running. Hiccup was a little slower, due to his prosthetic leg, but it didn't stop him from getting past the log dodge. It annoyed him and Astrid a little that there were Vikings above them dropping logs down, but they got past it quickly. The cliff climb was a little trickier, especially with the rocks falling down on them. Hiccup soon found himself ahead of Astrid, who was struggling to maintain her grip on a loose edge. Now was his chance to make up for his actions the day before. He made his way back down and held out his hand. Astrid looked up at him and grabbed his outstretched hand, allowing him to pull her up onto a much sturdier ledge. The members of Team Go-Getters were the only ones who weren't surprised by Hiccup's actions.

Not long after he had helped Astrid, a large rock fell close to him, startling him enough to make him lose his grip. He had just started to fall when he suddenly felt someone grab him and jerk him upward. He looked up to see Astrid holding onto his arm. With all her strength, Astrid pulled him up to her level, where he managed to grab onto a nearby ledge.

Hiccup paused to take a few breaths before asking, "So, we're even?"

Astrid nodded. "Even."

They both resumed climbing after that.

It was a tough climb, but Astrid managed to reach the top first. Not wasting any time, she mounted Stormfly and the two of them took off just as Hiccup made it to the top. Toothless waited eagerly as his rider strapped himself in the saddle and slipped his prosthetic foot into the stirrup.

"Let's go, bud."

With that, they were off.

It was too close for even Snivels to figure out who could be the winner. Both dragons were nearly even matched, moving at similar speeds, and were neck-and-neck when they looped around the anchored flagship. They made it to the sea stack maze in very little time after the ship. But something was stopping Hiccup from taking the lead as they neared the end of the course. Astrid noticed him and urged Stormfly to slow down so she could talk to him. But before she could say anything, he spoke to her.

"I don't know what to do. I fear that if I win, I'll start boasting again, and I don't want that to happen. Just go ahead, I'll hang back if you want."

Astrid shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere."

Hiccup gave her a look of confusion. "I thought you'd want to win."

"I did," Astrid said, "But with you volunteering to hang back and let me win, there's no way I can do that. You're always talking about how you're not good at anything in Thawfest, but you're wrong. You're great at being a friend. No one deserves to cross that finish line more that you do, Hiccup."

Hiccup's look of confusion changed to one of realization. His compassion towards Astrid had inspired her to let him win. He sighed.

 _As long as it doesn't turn out like it did yesterday..._

He clicked the stirrup, and Toothless shot ahead towards the finish line. Astrid smiled as she watched them go. Stormfly looked up at her rider, seeing how happy she looked, and started for the arena at a steady pace.

Snivels, Blaze, Ninjark, Kickin' Hawk, and Heather had seen what had happened, and although they couldn't hear, they had a good idea of what their friends had been talking about. Snivels held Laetio up so he could have a better view of Hiccup and Toothless flying into the arena, and past the finish line.

The entire crowd erupted into cheers, but Hiccup paid no attention to them as he and Toothless landed in the middle of the arena. Dismounting the Night Fury, Hiccup was suddenly being hugged by none other than Snivels, who was obviously proud of his trainer's accomplishment. Hiccup was momentarily surprised by the sudden embrace, but it didn't make him hesitate to return the gesture to his friend. He hadn't won the Thawfest the way he thought he would, but seeing how all his friends were there to support him no matter what certainly made him feel like a winner.

Kickin' Hawk approached the two friends as Snivels wriggled his way out of the hug. The Hawlucha held up a Thawfest medal he had retrieved earlier and smiled at Hiccup. "You earned it," he said with pride. Hiccup smiled as he took the medal and looked up at all of his friends, who had just gathered in the arena, including Astrid and Stormfly.

"Thanks, guys."

"Well, we did tell you there was more than one way to win," Amber said, smiling.

Snivels laughed and held her hand. "Of course you would know that," he said.

Amber blushed, but it was hard to see due to her crimson-colored skin. "Oh, Snivels!"

As the Charmeleon and Servine exchanged a few words, Hiccup put his medal into Toothless's saddlebag for safekeeping before Astrid walked up to him and punched him in the arm. Wincing, Hiccup turned so that he was facing her before asking, "What was that for?" Astrid gave him a playful smile before replying, "That was to get your attention."

Casting his eyes downward, Hiccup began awkwardly, "So, uh...about what I said back there...I was only trying to..." He was cut off when Astrid pulled him toward her and kissed him firmly, but passionately, not caring that the entire Viking village and their friends were watching. Hiccup's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, but he got over it quickly and relaxed. He was about to kiss her back when she pulled away.

"That's for being you."

Hiccup smiled at her. "That, Astrid, is one of the many reasons why I love you." Astrid just smiled and led him out of the arena, with their friends following.

Now they could finally relax after three days of exciting, yet tiring, events.

* * *

 _Yep. I finally did it._

 _But there are things that are much more important than winning. Like being a good friend._

 _Especially if your friends are Team Go-Getters._

* * *

Meanwhile, up in the mountains, the odd-looking creature had just gotten up from its long nap.

It was a medium-sized, four-legged dragon, with a relatively small head and a long snout. Two straight and thick horns decorated the top of its head, orientating towards the back of the dragon. It had two large ear-like appendages — much like a Night Fury's — as well as four other small appendices, two on each side of its head. It's body and tail were relatively short, and covered in big plates, similar to an armadillo. Its wings were large, with feather-like scales and sharp edges. Its short, stubby legs, ended with four round claws.

There was a crooning sound as a second, identical dragon joined the first, their eyes on the far exit to their cave.

 _Is it time to come out?_

* * *

 **Snivels: Wow, that was intriguing. Especially that part near the end. Those strange creatures don't sound like any dragon I've ever heard before.**

 **Ninjark: There's a chance they could be something else, you know.**

 **Snivels: Yeah. Hopefully we'll find out soon. I can't wait to see how many reviews we get for this chapter!**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: When Lightning Strikes

 **Snivels: Man, those reviews just keep piling up! I wonder how many people out there are reading this? You know, that whole series by that DreamWorks company doesn't really capture the real thing, does it?**

 **Amber: I'll say. They don't know the real story!**

 **Champion: And those Metal Heads ought to be a placed lower on the evolutionary chain than us Go-Getters, if you ask me.**

 **Xylia: Yeah, by about 500 IQ!**

 **Tito: I estimate the distance between our amount of intellect and theirs would be about twenty to thirty thousand years.**

 **Snivels: Why don't we get back to that conversation during the episode's halftime?**

 **Blaze: Sounds good to me.**

 **Ninjark: Agreed!**

* * *

 _Living with dragons has its ups...and downs. You need to stay calm and keep a clear head. Not easy with Vikings._

 _Go-Getters, on the other hand, are very reasonable._

 _When a problem is caused by something Vikings don't understand, they lose all sense of reason._

 _And that can be very dangerous._

* * *

It was a beautiful day in the Barbaric Archipelago, especially for Team Go-Getters. Hiccup had agreed to help Heather train her lower-level Pokémon for battle with help from Tito and Spike. The Helioptile was hesitant, but he eventually agreed to help out his friends.

It wasn't long before Tito and Spike were were facing Captain and Phoxie out in their front yard. The idea was for the Chespin and Fennekin to gain experience from practice battles, in hopes that they would get stronger and learn new moves.

Tito started off with a Quick Attack, but he was stopped by Captain's Vine Whip, which held him high in the air. Phoxie tried to use Ember on Spike, but the Shiny Druddigon managed to dodge. He quickly fired back with a Dragon Claw, hitting both Captain and Phoxie hard, causing Captain to lose his grip on Tito. This went on for a while until Phoxie and Tito were commanded to use Ember and Thundershock, respectively. But what they used were far more powerful attacks, that combined in midair, causing a blazing and electrifying surge of power.

Flamethrower and Thunderbolt.

The training had worked, but not in the way everyone had expected.

Phoxie and Tito stopped attacking when they realized that they were using more powerful moves than they had been commanded to use, and the little Helioptile quickly scampered back to his trainer, slightly embarrassed.

Hiccup leaned down and patted Tito's head gently while Astrid approached him. "That was pretty impressive," she said.

Hiccup scooped Tito into his arms before standing up and turning to face his fiancée. "I wasn't really expecting it," he admitted.

"None of us were expecting it," Heather said, "But those moves were definitely improvements of those previous attacks."

Hiccup shrugged. No way he could argue with that. After a quick glance around the clearing he noticed that someone wasn't there.

"Where's Snivels?"

* * *

As it turned out, Snivels never actually left the house. The Trainers of Destiny found him in their bedroom, sitting in front of a three-way mirror, his mouth half full of food.

" _Eating chocolate looks like this!_ "

Unable to believe that the Servine was singing with chocolate in his mouth, Astrid cleared her throat loudly. Snivels jumped at the sound, leaping up from the chair and closing the mirror, whilst swallowing the chocolate. He relaxed when he noticed who it was. "Oh, hey guys, you're back early, uh...I suppose the training went well? I meant to join you, but, uh...Stoick came up here to see if anyone was home, and I wasn't really sure how long he was going to be out there, so I thought I'd try to wait him out."

"You didn't have to wait him out," Hiccup said.

Heather nodded in agreement and held up a folded piece of paper. "He left a note. The Vikings' homes are being destroyed by the dragons because they're resting on the roofs."

Snivels's eyes widened with realization. "Oh."

There was a noise outside, and everyone rushed out to see Kickin' Hawk greeting an unusual-looking dragon. It looked as though its scales were made of metal, and it had a very long, telescopic tail.

Snivels examined the dragon before stating, "That's a Razorwhip, but you don't usually see them in this part of the archipelago."

The Razorwhip leaned its head down to allow Kickin' Hawk to retrieve a paper scroll from its mouth. The Hawlucha opened the scroll as the rest of the members of Team Go-Getters gathered to see what was going on. Kickin' Hawk began to read the writing on the paper out loud.

 _My friends,_

 _I have been aware of your recent accomplishments, and I am happy to report that you have all impacted and inspired many members of the Resistance. We have welcomed Vengeance into the organization, and you can be sure he will be treated well amongst us. I would also like to congratulate Astrid and Hiccup for their engagement, of which many of us are quite proud of._

 _Therefore, I hereby offer for them to be wed by none other than yours truly, up at the Resistance's headquarters, and my home, the Ice Caves (Best known to the Vikings as Freezing to Death). I will be waiting for all of you to arrive near the end of the Vikings' celebratory Bork Week, so be sure to be ready by then. It is then when I will finally reveal myself to all of you, as I have secluded myself inside my home for safety, and I have been in hiding ever since the beginning of the Great Dragon War. Very few of you have been lucky enough to meet me in person, and there will be no exception with the coming of another dreadful Viking tradition. I will be sending some friends of mine to talk to you about the arrangements. Let me warn you - they can be rather electrifying._

 _Wishing you all the best,_

 _Fjord_

 _P.S. I thought your friend Heather would like to have this dragon, as it is my fault she no longer has any parents. Her name is Windshear. Take good care of her._

As Kickin' Hawk read the last part, Windshear walked up to Heather and nuzzled her. Heather was momentarily surprised by this, but she didn't hesitate to pat the dragon's snout.

Hiccup, on the other hand, was quite uncomfortable with Fjord's knowledge of his and Astrid's engagement. Just how much did that all-seeing Kyurem know? How far into the future was he able to see?

He'd have to make a list of questions for when he went to meet Fjord.

But first, they had some problem-solving to do.

* * *

That's how Team Go-Getters ended up building and setting up large metal perches for the dragons to rest on.

It took a lot of work to shape all the metal beams and finding enough supports to help them hold the weight of the dragons, but it was worth the absence of complaints from the Vikings about their damaged homes. And it didn't help that Xylia wasn't entirely focused on the operation.

"Amber, don't you think it's cute the way Ninjark glues the beams together with his frubbles? Me too. We're so going to be mates someday. Know what we're gonna name our kids? Xavier and Phelsuma."

Despite all of that, they were able to get the job done before the end of the day, and were soon ready to test the perches. Astrid had already mounted Stormfly, and the dragon-Go-Getter duo were soon airborne. With some hesitation, the Deadly Nadder lowered herself onto the perch. Shifting a little to make herself more comfortable, Stormfly let out a squawk of approval. Satisfied, the members of Team Go-Getters all headed home, ignoring the Vikings cheering at the success.

Tito was the only one who noticed some dark storm clouds heading their way.

* * *

"Wasn't this just the greatest idea ever?!" Phoxie asked as she observed a pack of Nadders landing on the perches to rest from inside their home.

"As much as I dislike helping out the Vikings, at least we won't be getting any more complaints about damaged homes," Snivels muttered as he helped Amber and Blaze mix up a stew.

Kickin' Hawk nodded in agreement. "Go-Getters above Vikings, that's what I always say," he deduced. He turned to see Heather leaning against the wall. "Hiccup and Astrid have been up there for a while," he said, "Would you do us all a favor and go check on them?"

"Last I heard them, they were discussing possible results of Fjord's visitors," Blaze commented, "At least Hiccup was."

No sooner after she'd said that, Heather was trudging up the stairs. When she reached the bedroom, she found Laetio sitting at the foot of one of the beds, with Astrid and Hiccup both asleep on it. Noticing his trainer, the Shiny Noibat hopped onto Hiccup's desk, picked up a pencil in his mouth, and began scribbling words onto a sheet of paper.

HICCY AND ASTY TALK LOTS

SAY "LOVE"

GET SLEEPY

TAKE NAPS

Dropping the pencil, Laetio smiled at Heather. It took her a minute to understand the uncoordinated writing. "Thanks for watching them for us, Laetio," she said, "Now why don't you go eat some stew?" Laetio flapped his wings excitedly.

" _Yea, yea! Laetio gobble stewie! Gobble stewie with Ninjy! Hiccy and Asty wakey?_ "

The young Noibat had gotten slightly better at speech, but it was still a bit hard to understand him. "Yes, you go eat," Heather said encouragingly, "I'll be right down with you." Laetio jumped down from the desk and hopped down the stairs. Heather quietly approached the bed where her two friends were resting. "Aw, they're so cute when they sleep together," she said before sitting down on the bed and gently shaking them. "Psst, guys?"

Downstairs, the rest of the members of Team Go-Getters were already gathering bowls for the stew, which looked and smelled better than most of the things they had tried to cook, when they all heard a loud rumble from outside. Everyone froze in surprise as another roll of thunder followed, along with a flash of light from outside. The loud noises were enough to make both Hiccup and Astrid jolt awake. Heather nearly fell back in surprise at both the storm and her friends waking up so quickly.

Kickin' Hawk nearly pulled the door off its hinges as he ran outside to see a storm bigger than any he'd ever seen. Dark clouds were forming in the sky over the island, and lightning seemed to be striking every second. This was not being caused by a Legendary Pokémon. This was a real storm. Upon observing the effect of the storm, Kickin' Hawk quickly realized that the metal perches were attracting the lightning. The electric bolts were beginning to lance off of the perches and setting houses and other wooden structures on fire.

Now, Kickin' Hawk wasn't one to be concerned for the well being of Vikings, but he knew that there were also dragons and Pokémon that were in danger of getting hurt, either by the lightning, or the fires. The Hawlucha raced back inside to warn the rest of the team of the oncoming danger.

But even he didn't know of the creatures coming to feed on the majority of inhabitants.

* * *

The Vikings were already in enough trouble as they could get in. Almost all of their homes were ablaze, and the storm had grown in so much intensity, that it seemed there was never less than two bolts in the sky at once. None of them were aware of the curious yellow eyes that were watching their every move.

The two dragons from the mountain cave had never seen creatures like these before - walking upright on two legs with flabby appendages that ended in five clawless digits. And what was with those odd fabrics of cloth they were wearing? And those funny hats with horns sticking out of them?

The two dragons stayed hidden in the foliage at the edge of the forest as the storm raged on. With lightning striking down every second, the Vikings had no choice but to take shelter in the Great Hall, which was the only building that wasn't close enough to a perch to be damaged by the lightning.

By the time Team Go-Getters arrived, the entire place looked like a warzone. Multiple building were ablaze, but, miraculously, no one was seriously hurt.

Kickin' Hawk spotted the two dragons hiding near the edge of the forest as he surveyed the area. He recognized the creatures immediately.

 _What are the Chimeragons doing out in this kind of weather?_

The Hawlucha almost didn't hear Hiccup give out orders for putting out the fires and saving whoever or whatever was still trapped. He looked away from the Chimeragons to give Hiccup an obedient nod as he heard him finish his orders. But when the Hawlucha looked back to where he had seen the dragons, they were gone, most likely having disappeared into the thick foliage of the forest. He ignored this as he followed his friends into the fire-infested wreckage.

Toothless, who had been searching among the fires for anyone in need of help, noticed Hiccup heading for the Great Hall, and started over to meet him. Hoping to get there faster, the Night Fury started jumping on top of the perches, but soon realized he had made a mistake when the lightning bolts started striking the metal beams, barely missing him each time. From the way it looked, it was like the lightning was aiming at Toothless.

The Night Fury soon caught up with his friend as they made their way towards the Great Hall. A large group of surviving Vikings had witnessed the lightning incident, and were rather confused about the occurrence.

Suddenly, Mildew and Jekyll were among them. "Did you all see that?" the old man asked in an accusing tone.

The other members of Team Go-Getters had caught up with Hiccup by then, and many of them groaned inwardly at the sight of the ugly hermit. Heather, however, was confused as to why the old man was making such a fuss. Snivels sighed. "Let's here what the old bag of dragon dung has to say, shall we?" he asked, sarcastically. His comment went unnoticed as the Vikings mumbled amongst themselves.

"Don't you understand?" Mildew said, "The Gods are angry, and they've unleashed the storms, and the coming of the Great Hideous Beast upon us! And I'll tell you why. It's because of him!" He pointed his stick at an innocent-looking and confused Toothless. Before Hiccup could protest, Mildew continued. "As you all know, the Night Fury is the offspring of lightning and death itself! We've let it live among us, and now we will all pay the price!"

Snivels scoffed. "As if! You don't have any proof that Toothless was the cause of all this!"

Murmurs of "the Servine's right," and "Toothless isn't to blame" drifted through the crowd of Vikings like wood in the ocean.

But Mildew wasn't finished just yet. "Then what do you suppose the Gods are angry at?" he asked.

"No one is mad at anyone or anything," Kickin' Hawk said, pointing to the perches. "The perches are made of metal, and metal conducts electricity. That's the reason why there's so much lightning here."

"And do you expect us to believe that?" Mildew asked accusingly, "You've got no proof that the perches are the cause of all this!"

"Quit stealing my words!" Snivels shouted. Jekyll gave him an unzipped, and scary grin. Snivels growled in anger at the Banette.

Hiccup stepped forward. "Snivels, calm down," he said, "There's no reason to be upset."

"Mildew's accusing Toothless of all the trouble," Snivels said, "And you think there's no reason to be upset?!"

Things quickly escalated into a full-out argument over the cause of the storms, as well as the attacks. Blaze shut her eyes, as if trying to block out the noise, but the shouting just kept getting louder. It eventually grew to a point where she couldn't stand it anymore, and she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"QUIET!"

Amazingly enough, everything went silent shortly after her brief outburst. All eyes were on her now. The Blaziken calmly raised her hand.

"Hi."

Before anyone could respond, or complain, Stoick suddenly spoke up. "The kids are right. The Gods are angry at us, but I do not believe it's because of Toothless."

"Then what do you suppose they're angry at?" Mildew asked, annoyed.

"I don't presume to know their minds," Stoick said, "But we will find a way to soothe their fury."

Dissatisfied, Mildew trudged off in the direction of the mountain on which his hut resided, his ugly face twisted into a hideous glare.

Speechless, the members of Team Go-Getters all exchanged worried glances before heading back to Raven Point. They happened to pass the yak barn, where Snotlout was shoveling large quantities of yak droppings into a wagon. The Jorgenson boy froze at the sight of them, but his anger and frustration reached boiling point when he spotted Snivels. Dropping the shovel on the ground, he yelled as he charged head on. "If I ever...!" He was cut off as he tripped over a pile of shovels he had not seen. Snivels ducked behind Toothless as Snotlout picked himself up, finishing his threat. "If I ever get my hands on you, I'm gonna wring your scrawny little neck, so help me, I will!"

Astrid shot him a glare that would've made him drop dead, if looks could kill. "You had it coming to you, Snotlout, and you know you can't keep blaming others for you misfortunes." Snotlout fumed for a minute before reluctantly returning to his work. The members of Team Go-Getters promptly resumed their trek home, Hiccup glancing up at the darkened clouds before doing so.

* * *

A few hours later, all of the Pokémon were sulking inside their house, their trainers out talking, trying to figure out how to handle the lightning storms. Tito was sitting across from the Pokedex, a Sun Stone laying next to it. He knew as well as anyone that Helioptile evolved into Heliolisk when exposed to Sun Stones, and he'd been pondering whether or not he wanted to evolve.

The long, dreadful silence was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Amber went to open it. "Are we expecting anyone this late?" Snivels asked.

Amber opened the door to reveal Zapdos, Raikou, Zekrom, Thundurus, and Zeraora standing just outside. "Certainly not them," the Charmeleon replied.

Zapdos, Raikou, Thundurus, and Zeraora invited themselves in while Zekrom stayed outside, peeking in through the window. "It's good to see you again, Opinor," Kickin' Hawk said to the large black Pokémon. "So who are your friends?"

Opinor leaned his arm in through the window and pointed to each Legendary Pokémon, calling them by their respective name. "They're Zap, Sabre, Thor and Plasmoid."

There was a pause before Ninjark asked, "I don't suppose you guys are the ones Fjord sent to make arrangements for the wedding?"

"Yes," Zap said, "Yes we are. But seeing as you guys have a big problem on your hands, we might need to take care of that first."

"We didn't mean to cause any harm," Snivels said, "We were just trying to keep the dragons from wrecking things and provide a good rest spot for them."

"But we never really thought about the consequences of the idea, did we?" Blaze asked.

Tito shook his head. "No, no we did not."

All the other Pokémon sighed.

Their distress was short-lived, though, as Amber walked over to the group, carrying trays with several mugs full of a strange, nonalcoholic drink and offered them to her friends. "These will turn all your frowns upside-down!"

Thor observed the drink in his mug. "Juice squeezed from apples?" he asked, "We have nothing like this back at our headquarters."

Sabre growled as he tried to pick up his mug of apple juice with his paws. "No...thumbs...can't...grip...!"

Plasmoid walked up next to him. "Hey, hey, hey," the Zeraora said, "Calm blue ocean. Let me hold that for you, buddy." He grabbed the mug in his hands, picking it up and holding it out for the Raikou to drink from.

"Thanks, Amber," Opinor said as the Charmeleon handed him his own mug of apple juice. He sipped his drink before continuing. "Normally, we'd do as we're assigned first, which would be arranging the wedding, but since you've all somehow managed to turn the entire island into a giant lightning rod, we're gonna have to deal with that problem first."

"But how are we going to do that?" Snivels asked. "Is there a way for us to get rid of the metal without having to completely dispose of the perches? We made them out of metal because we knew that wooden perches would catch fire, but we didn't mean to draw in so many electrical storms."

Opinor thought for a minute before he got an idea. "There is an element known as titanium. It's super strong, heat resistant, and it's a poor conductor of electricity. There's some hidden in the mountains of Berk, but it's a very long and difficult trek. We'll lead you there in the morning."

Snivels glanced around the room at his friends. "Guys, I know what we're gonna do tomorrow. We're gonna get some titanium!"

It was at that moment when Heather walked into the house. "Okay, guys, Hiccup's in the forge with Astrid trying to figure out a way to prove Toothless's innocence, and they asked me to come check on all of you to see if everything's okay." She walked over to grab a mug of apple juice, passing Zap on the way. Without realizing what she was doing, she mumbled a greeting, "Hey, Zapdos." Grabbing herself a mug of apple juice, she continued her explanation. "So, I'll be staying here for the rest of the..." Suddenly, her recent actions seemed to come flooding into realization, causing her eyes to widen, and stutter. "D...d...d...daaay?!"

Zap, slightly entertained by Heather's shocked response, waved his wing at her casually. "'Sup?"

Thor gave the stunned girl a curt nod. "Greetings, Trainer of Destiny."

Heather, still shocked, dropped her mug and paced over to her friends, her eyes bugging, and her body as stiff as a tree. She pointed back and forth between the Electric-Type Legendary Pokémon and their kitchen.

"It's...Legendary...Pokémon...in...duh...our...kitchen!"

That last word came out as more of a squeal.

Ninjark stepped forward and put his hands on his trainer's shoulders. "Heather's going to go lie down for a while," he said before leading the shocked girl to the stairs.

"Pokémon..."

"That's it, just breathe."

"Thundurus...Raikou...Zeraora..."

"They're only Lengedaries."

"In...our...kitchen...uh...Legendary..."

Snivels chuckled as the two headed up the stairs. "Looks like you guys have a fan!"

No sooner after he'd said that, there was a loud crash of thunder from outside.

"I'm thinking now would probably be a good time for us to hunker down for a while," Tito said, frightened.

"I couldn't agree more," Snivels said, "We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

* * *

It was after dark when Hiccup and Astrid returned home from the forge, with Toothless following close behind. The Electric-Type Legendary and Mythical Pokémon were all sleeping outside, by the window from which Opinor used to see inside. Knowing the reason why they had come, Hiccup and Astrid headed inside. Toothless bounded over to the Dragon's Meadow to meet Stormfly and Windshear, his energetic movements contradicting his exhaustion. Hiccup watched him go for a few seconds before following Astrid inside. As they walked into their home, the Sun Stone left on the table caught Hiccup's eye. He noticed the Pokedex lying next to it, turned to the page about Heliolisk.

 _Has Tito been thinking about evolving?_

Hiccup went to pick up the Sun Stone, and Astrid noticed him. "Everything okay?" she asked. Hiccup sighed as he examined the Sun Stone in his hand. "I don't want to force Tito to evolve," he said, "I just want him to be happy with who he is. And with everything that's going on in the village, I..."

Astrid walked over and turned him so that he was facing her. "It's okay," she said, "I understand." She laid a hand on his shoulder, her expression soft and comforting. "Hiccup, I know you'll do what you think is right, especially for Tito. You've done so much for all of us, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we're grateful for it." Hiccup set the Sun Stone on the table behind him and gave his fiancée a small smile.

"Thank you, Astrid."

Astrid smiled back before pulling him into a hug. Hiccup was momentarily surprised, but he set that feeling aside and hugged her back. They stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity, but was really several minutes, when Hiccup suddenly remembered the events from earlier that day.

"What about Toothless?"

Astrid pulled out of the embrace to look him in the eye. "He'll be fine, Hiccup," she said, "We'll find a way to figure this out. We always do."

That made Hiccup smile. "When did I get lucky enough to have you in my life?" he asked.

Astrid gave him a skeptical look, along with the usual punch to the arm. "You really want to go that far?" she asked.

Despite the pain, Hiccup's smile remained. He knew what was coming next. And he didn't have to wait too long, because the next thing he knew, it was happening.

* * *

 **Ninjark: Wow, that was some crazy stuff going on! Anyone else wondering if Tito will evolve?**

 **Snivels: Well, I'll admit I'm interested in seeing him evolve, but let's not push him into doing something he doesn't want to do.**

 **Tito: Actually, I could use some support in the idea of evolving, especially from some of our biggest followers.**

 **Snivels: Sure we can, and while we're at it, why don't we tell our fans to leave some reviews? Tito, care to do the honors?**

 **Tito: Thank you. Leave us some reviews!**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Shocking Revelations

 **Snivels: Wow, this thing is moving along great! **Let's see what our fans have to say once we've gotten the titanium!****

* * *

Things would have been near normal the next morning if it weren't for the ever-growing lightning storms. They had gotten more frequent since the night before, and they showed no signs of dispersing. That didn't bother the Electric-Type Pokémon, though. They enjoyed areas with lots of electricity, which was why many of them had come from foreign islands to feed off of the lightning shocks. It was nothing like anyone on Berk had ever seen.

And that included Team Go-Getters.

The group of heroes had started their small journey into the mountains on dragonback, with small lightning bolts occasionally striking in their direction, mostly due to the amount of metal that was used for Hiccup and Toothless's prosthetics. The Electric-Type Legendaries were guiding them away from the worst of the storms to ensure their safety, Sparks and Plasmoid riding on Opinor while Sabre was riding on Zap. Laetio had tried to fly a few times, though they were all unsuccessful. The poor Shiny Noibat was beginning to think he would never learn to fly. He managed to hitch a ride on Windshear, right behind Heather.

"The titanium is somewhere in these mountains," Opinor said as they neared the summit of the tallest of the mountains, "But it will be a lot of work to try and find the amount we need to build new perches."

"Well, then we better get started," Snivels said as he started to steer Buck in the direction of the summit.

"Snivels, wait!"

The Servine froze at the sound of his trainer's voice. He tugged on Buck's reigns, urging the Grapple Grounder to turn himself so that they were facing Hiccup.

"It's not safe for us to land up there," Hiccup said before gesturing to the ground below them. "We'll have to land down there instead."

"Are you kidding?!" Blaze nearly shouted from her position on Wavern's back, "It'll take hours for us to get up there that way!"

"Do we have a choice?" Kickin' Hawk asked, who was riding behind her on the Noivern.

Hiccup steered Toothless down into the forest, his friends following without complaints. Opinor, Zap, and Thor hesitated before joining them. They had known Hiccup as being a natural-born leader, even if he didn't know it.

None of the members of Team Go-Getters said anything as they landed and dismounted their dragons. Hiccup hesitated before speaking up. "Okay, new plan. This may seem like a bad idea, but I think it's safer if we walk there."

here was a moment of silence before Snivels suddenly spoke up. "We understand your concern for our safety, Hic, but don't you think it'll be a while before we reach the mountain's summit?" Quite a few others nodded in agreement.

"You all know he means well," Opinor said, "But I agree with Hiccup. It's too dangerous for you all to land up there on your dragons. We'll have to lead you there by foot."

"Just as long as Hiccup's able to make the trek without breaking his prosthetic," Zap added. Thor nudged him hard.

Snivels sighed. "Something tells me this is going to be a LONG day," he said.

* * *

A long day it was, indeed.

The skies were darkening with storm clouds as the rather large group of friends trudged up the mountain, barely managing to keep pace with the large Electric-Type Pokémon.

Hiccup was trudging in the back of the group, and he tried to ignore the inevitable complaints that were beginning to drift throughout the rest of Team Go-Getters. He would've complained too, but he didn't want to embarrass himself in any way, so he just trudged on. Despite the fact that he felt as though his prosthetic would snap in half if he didn't stop to rest.

And it didn't help that Basan was asking if they had made it to the top every other second.

"Are we there yet?"

"No," Kickin' Hawk replied, his voice tinted with annoyance, which grew every time Basan asked him.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"Are we there yet?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"No!"

"Are we there yet?"

"No!" Blaze shouted, joining in the protests.

"Are we there yet?"

"No, we are not!" Kickin' Hawk shouted at the top of his lungs.

There was a brief moment of silence before...

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!" Everyone, Go-Getters and Legendaries, shouted loud enough to nearly make the impatient Torchic deaf. Hopefully that had finally shut him up.

Opinor suddenly stopped and held up his hand. "Alright, let's just...take a break."

"Are you kidding?!" Blaze nearly shouted, "We'll never make it there if we rest too much!"

Snivels sighed. "We won't get there if we keep moving for too long, either," he said.

"He has a point," Ninjark said. "If we just keep moving, we'll end up resting a lot longer than we should be."

Hiccup was just about ready to collapse. At that point, he didn't care if resting for a little while meant a really ticked-off Blaze, he needed to sit down, and he could tell that quite a few others had the same feeling.

Blaze, knowing she was outvoted, sighed. "Alright, we'll take a break."

Upon hearing that, many of the Pokémon sighed and practically collapsed to the ground. Blaze hesitated before sitting down with them.

Hiccup felt as though his limbs were made of sticks ready to snap at any given moment. He somehow managed to make his way over to a rock in a nearby clearing before he finally sat down. Astrid noticed her tired fiancé leave and went to join him. Hiccup probably wouldn't have noticed her if she hadn't sat down next to him on the rock.

"I know you're hiding something."

Hiccup wasn't surprised by her sudden statement. He knew she'd eventually notice. Every now and then he'd ask her if he could borrow the ring, and she had let him borrow it, but not without a look of suspicion. He'd been trying to find ways to "improve" it, and trying to keep it a secret only increased Astrid's suspicions. He knew it was time to come clean. He wordlessly reached into his pocket and took out the ring before holding it out for Astrid to take. As she reached out to take the ring, she noticed that there was something engraved inside it. Taking the ring from her fiancé, Astrid read the engraving.

 _Love at first flight_

Speechless to say in the least, Astrid read the engraving a few times before putting the ring back on her finger. "That's what you were working on?" she asked.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to make it special for you."

Astrid shook her head, smiling. "And I was beginning to think you couldn't make it any more sappy than it already was," she said.

"You know me," Hiccup said, shrugging his shoulders. "It's what I do. But if you don't like it, you can always tell me."

"No, it's okay," Astrid reassured, "My life could actually use a little more of...this." She pointed at him, smiling.

Hiccup was momentarily speechless before stating, "You just gestured to all of me."

Astrid's smile widened, as she reached up and cupped his cheek. "I know," she said.

"Aw, isn't that sweet?"

The two young heroes turned to see a certain Hawlucha leaning up against a tree, a smug grin on his face.

"Kickin' Hawk?!"

Shocked, Astrid hastily pushed Hiccup away, and ended up shoving him off the rock.

Kickin' Hawk just shook his head. It would take more than that to fool him.

* * *

Astrid and Hiccup weren't the only ones having a romantic moment. Snivels and Amber were sitting amongst the other Pokémon, but their focus was only on each other.

"So," Amber said, nervously, "I heard that when Servine evolve into Serperior, they develop fangs in their lower jaw."

Snivels nodded. "It's true," he said, "But there are a few rare occurrences in which a Servine gets his fangs before he evolves. I should know, because that's what happened to me." He pulled on his bottom lip to show two tiny fangs hidden among his normal teeth.

"Wow," Amber breathed, "That's actually kinda neat."

Snivels let go of his mouth and smiled at her. "Glad you think so," he said.

Amber hesitated before speaking again. "You know, both of us are now of an appropriate age of becoming mates. Or, at least, that's what I've gathered."

It took a minute for Snivels's thoughts to register. "Oh, uh...well, the...uh, mating age is, well...yes, um...I believe that's true."

Both of the Pokémon chuckled lightly before they both scooted away from each other to check their hygiene. Snivels sniffed his armpits and his breath, popping a few mint leaves in his mouth and chewing them, while Amber checked her teeth and skin. Once they were finished, the two Pokémon rejoined each other's side. Snivels blushed.

"Hi."

Amber blushed as well.

"Hi."

Snivels's smile suddenly faded.

"Amber?"

"Yes, Snivels?"

"You know that...that I love you, right?"

Amber's smile faded as well.

"Yes. And I love you."

Snivels hesitated before reaching out for the nervous Charmeleon to take his hand. "I don't want anything to get in the way of that," he said.

Amber promptly took the Servine's outstretched hand in her own. "Nothing ever could," she said.

"I know," Snivels whispered, leaning in.

"Then, we have nothing to fear," Amber said, leaning in as well. Their lips were just inches apart when Snivels's eyes snapped open in realization.

"Fear!"

Tearing away from Amber's grasp, Snivels stood up and looked back in the direction of the village. "Creatures behave irrationally when they're afraid! That's got to be part of how Mildew plans to get Toothless off the island. Maybe..."

"Snivels."

The Servine froze at the sound of his name, and turned to see Amber standing up as well. "You and I both know the dangers of putting one's goals and beliefs before what matters most. It happened to Stoick so easily, because he's a Viking. You're not like him. Just promise you won't make that mistake."

Snivels sighed. "Being the one and only heir to the throne has its responsibilities," he said, averting her eyes shamefully. "And one of those is protecting what matters most to me. No matter how hard it might be, I have to do what I feel is right. If you don't like it, then I don't want to force you to..."

He was cut off by Amber taking his hands in her own.

"Snivels, I like it more than you'll ever know."

With that, Amber let go of her loved one's hands, and turned to leave, tears filling her eyes.

Snivels started after her. "Amber..." But his voice failed to say anything other than her name. He stopped and watched her leave to join the other Pokémon, silently cursing himself for messing it up.

* * *

It wasn't long after that until Team Go-Getters and the Legendaries were all back on the trek up the mountain. All the while, the storm's intensity increased, lightning striking down at the metal perches in the village down below.

After a while, the Zekrom leading the group stopped at the entrance to a cave, which was covered by a large boulder.

"We're here," Opinor said simply.

Snivels walked up to the front of the group to examine the rock. "Any idea on how to move it?" he asked. Everyone turned to Hiccup, who usually had the tendency to come up with some sort of plan for situations like these.

But all he did was shrug. "Don't look at me."

Plasmoid groaned. "No way we walked all the way up here for this!" He grabbed Toothless in his paws and positioned him in front of the rock. "Stay still, Godzilla," the Zeraora muttered as he perched on top of the dragon and tried to lift the rock.

Kickin' Hawk sighed and shook his head. "There are times when I think those creatures are too smart for their own good," he said, leaning up against the rocky wall outside the blocked cave. His back pressed against a camouflaged button designed to blend in with the rocks around it, causing the rock-disguised door to slide open. Plasmoid fell off of Toothless's back as the rock slid out of the way, revealing the entrance to the cave. Kickin' Hawk straightened himself and looked over his shoulder to see what had made the door open. He sighed when he realized he had unintentionally pressed the button to open the door.

Hiccup looked into the cave to find it dark and gloomy. "Okay, so, who's going in first?" he asked.

Astrid shrugged and gestured to the cave in front of them. "Leaders lead," she said.

Realizing what she meant, Hiccup cautiously stepped into the cave, his hand on the wall so he could figure out where he was going. One by one, his friends followed him in, their hands on the wall as well. After a while, they let Amber go in front of them to light the way with her tail flame. Even then, it was too dark to see inside the cave. It was like having a blanket draped over your eyes. It seemed like the tunnel stretched forever, until finally, the group of heroes happened upon an opening within the cave. There was a crunching sound, and Hiccup looked down to see that he had stepped on a human rib cage. Ducking behind a wall, Hiccup realized that the entire clearing was filled with bones from all sorts of animals, from tiny minnows to bulky yaks. A few others groaned in disgust as they backed away from the mess.

There was a noise that sounded like that of chewing, and Hiccup realized that the room wasn't just full of skeletons.

A pair of odd-looking dragons was there too. And one of them was feeding on small scraps of meat from what Hiccup guessed was a wild boar.

"How are we supposed to find the titanium with them around?" Astrid asked.

"The element is on the other side of the clearing," Thor replied. "It shouldn't be too hard to get to it."

"Yeah, if you manage to get past the fact that there are unfamiliar dragons in the clearing with it," Hiccup said, sarcastically.

Snivels couldn't help but ask, "What are they?"

"Hybrids made up of several different dragon species," Opinor answered. "I'd explain more, but the longer we wait, the more intense those storms are going to get. But don't worry. If you ignore them, they will ignore you."

Gulping nervously, Hiccup ducked behind a pile of bones and slowly began making his way to the other end of the clearing. The dragons paid no attention to him (if they even knew he was there at all). But as he made his way over to the next pile of bones, he stepped on a rib cage, which crunched loudly. The dragon that had been feeding looked up from the small scraps of meat and looked at him. The other dragon, who had been lying down on a flat rock, lifted its head to look at the intruder.

Hiccup winced, waiting for them to attack him. Much to his surprise, the dragons lowered their heads and went right back to doing what they'd been doing before they were interrupted. Hiccup wasted no time reaching the other side of the cave clearing. There were streaks of a silver-colored substance in the walls in front of him, which he correctly assumed was the titanium. He signaled the others to join him as he examined the wall.

"That is the titanium," Opinor said. "And we'll have to move fast if we're to build the perches before the storm becomes too intense."

"But we'll never get down the mountain in time!" Snivels exclaimed. "The weather's too dangerous to fly in, and we can't get there by walking!"

"True," Thor said. "But there is another way."

Everyone turned to look at the Chimeragons, an idea forming in their minds.

* * *

And that's how Hiccup and Snivels ended up riding the Chimeragons down the mountain.

The hybrids were quite eager to help out their new comrades, and they were more than happy to carry the titanium on their backs. Hiccup held on to the female Chimeragon, named Tiamat, as tight as he could, to keep himself from falling off. He wasn't paying attention to where they were, or how much longer it would take for them to reach the village. His only focus was keeping himself steady on the back of the hybrid dragon. And if they did make it to the village in time to replace the perches, they'd have to work fast.

The other dragons followed the Chimeragons on foot to avoid the lightning, which was being countered by the Legendary and Mythical Pokémon's Electric attacks. A few wild Electric-types joined in unexpectedly, countering any lightning bolts that drew close to the area.

It didn't take as long for them to get to the village as they originally thought it would. The minute the hybrid dragons stopped at the edge of the forest, they began unloading the titanium they had extracted from the walls of the cave off of the Chimeragons' backs. Tiamat and her mate, Bahamut, then began to tear down the old perches while the members of Team Go-Getters worked to try and make the new ones.

Amber, Blaze, and Phoxie worked harder than ever before, using their Fire-Type attacks to try and shape the titanium to the correct form. Tito worked with the other Electric-types, among them an Electrike and a Mareep, to try and keep the lightning at bay. The Helioptile struggled, though, as his attacks weren't strong enough for him to counter the more powerful lightning bolts. Hiccup noticed his friend's struggle, and reached into his pocket and took out the Sun Stone he had found the other night.

"Tito!"

The Helioptile turned his head and spotted the Sun Stone in his trainer's hand. He held out his small arms, a determined look on his face. Hiccup understood the message and tossed the Sun Stone to Tito.

"Catch!"

The Sun Stone landed in the small Helioptile's arms, and Tito was immediately enveloped in a bright light. Seconds later, the Sun Stone fell to the ground, and the light faded to reveal a Heliolisk standing where Tito had been.

Tito had evolved.

Feeling more confident, now that he had evolved, Tito unleashed a more powerful Thunderbolt to counter a large bolt of lightning that was about the strike.

The rest of the members of Team Go-Getters kept working, hoping to finish the job before the storm got any worse. Soon there was only one perch left to replace. The storm's intensity was gradually decreasing, but it was still intense enough to cause some damage. With Zap's help, the three Trainers of Destiny managed to position the final perch into place. "The storms should be gone by morning," the Zapdos said, "But I think we've still got a certain angry hermit to deal with."

As if on cue, the nasty old Mildew happened to trudge by. "That Night Fury is still here," the old hermit grumbled. "I just know it!"

"Toothless is NOT the cause of this!" Hiccup shouted over the storm, "The lightning was attracted to the metal!"

Snivels stepped forward. "How can you be so stubborn to not accept the truth?!"

Tito had been watching the ensuing argument, and he decided it was time for him to try and put an end to the madness. He spotted Jekyll sitting nearby and zapped him with a powerful Thunderbolt. The Banette twisted and jerked as the Electric attack zapped him. " _Stop!_ " he cried, " _I'm not doing anything bad, I swear!_ " Tito stopped attacking and gave Jekyll a look of confusion. " _I am not a bad Pokémon,_ " Jekyll admitted, " _I only do evil things because my master is evil!_ "

Realizing that he was telling the truth, Tito helped Jekyll stand up, and the two Pokémon turned to glare at Mildew. " _I've endured his selfishness for long enough!_ " Jekyll complained as he and Tito advanced on the stubborn old man. The Benette tossed pieces of scrap metal at Mildew's feet, which Tito then electrified with Parabolic Charge.

The electric shocks that came off the metal scraps were enough to make the ugly old man writhe in agony and pain, but (sadly) not enough to kill him. And the event was being witnessed by nearly everyone in the village. Bahamut and Tiamat took the chance to escape into the forest, heading for the mountain cave that had become their home.

Just when it seemed like everything would work out after all, a stray spark suddenly lanced off one of the metal scraps and shocked Hiccup. Tito immediately stopped attacking upon seeing his friend being electrified. The spark hadn't been as powerful as the jolts used on Mildew and Jekyll, but it was enough to make everyone worry. Astrid caught Hiccup as he fell over, slipping into unconsciousness.

* * *

Snivels and the other Pokémon waited outside their home, hoping that Hiccup would be okay. The sun had set, and the storm had dissipated. Zap and the other Electric-Type Legendaries were waiting too. They had been inspired by Hiccup's bravery, and they wanted to thank him for all he had done for his friends.

Astrid was in the bedroom, beside Hiccup's bed, waiting for a sign of her fiancé waking. She had known that Tito was trying to help, and hadn't meant to cause harm to his trainer. But that didn't stop her from worrying. It was like the battle with the Red Death all over again, with Hiccup unconscious in bed, with little signs of waking. Other than Toothless and Snivels, Astrid had visited him the most, hoping that one day she'd be able to tell him how much he truly meant to her, as she had promised to herself and Blaze. She barely noticed Heather watching her until she joined her friend by Hiccup's bedside.

"He's going to make it."

Astrid didn't bother turning to look at the sound of Heather's comment. Though it did sound rather girly to her, she was too focused on waiting for Hiccup to wake. Heather wasn't surprised when Astrid didn't answer. She'd grown more aware of the couple's feelings toward one another, and never did anything to try and get in the way since the Dragon Manual incident. "I may not know him as well as you do," Heather said, "But if I know anything, it's that Hiccup will make it. He's stronger than he looks. He's almost like the brother I never had. I don't know how I know, but he will be okay."

When Astrid didn't say anything, Heather took it as a sign to let her have a moment to think things through. Snivels perked up when Heather came back out, but his face fell when he noticed her depressed expression.

Little did they know, Astrid was The as upset as she appeared to be. She had been remembering all the times she spent with Hiccup, how he had helped her change for the better. It filled her with hope, there was still a chance for them to all pull through and prove to the world that they were proud to be who they are, and what they were meant to be.

No matter what, they would bring true peace.

* * *

It was sunrise when Hiccup awoke the next morning.

The first thing he noticed was that his muscles (if he had any at all) were all tingling with mild pain. Before he could register what had happened the previous night, Toothless was at his bedside, nuzzling and licking him happily. Hiccup grumbled, "Toothless, what happened, bud?" He swung his legs out of bed and inspected them.

One prosthetic and one made of flesh, blood, and bone.

"Well, at least I didn't lose another one," Hiccup muttered as he stood up. It took him a minute to notice that the entire room was empty. He and Toothless were the only ones there. With newfound energy, he bolted downstairs and out the door to see a large crowd forming at the docks. He wasted no time leaping onto Toothless's back and activating the dragon's prosthetic tail.

In mere minutes, they had joined their friends at the docks in time to see Mildew and Fungus getting shoved below the deck of a small Viking ship by Sparks and Sabre. Jekyll had already found a chance at redemption by working as a cadet for the Resistance. If they had noticed Hiccup's arrival, the members of Team Go-Getters put their excitement aside to flash well-deserved glares at the old hermit who was about to be shipped off.

"You know," Snivels said, "Just because you want Toothless off the island for some reason even Kickin' Hawk doesn't know, it doesn't mean you have to go trudging around the village trying to find excuses to support your claims." Mildew grumbled at the Servine.

"And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling sons of...!"

He was cut off by the door slamming, though it was assumed he was using language even Kickin' Hawk wouldn't dare to use. Now with him out of the way, the members of Team Go-Getters could focus on their other main interest.

Hiccup dismounted Toothless only to be met by an overly-delighted Astrid, who practically emptied his lungs of air as she hugged him tightly. After getting his breath back, Hiccup promptly returned her affection, even going so far as to nuzzle a small kiss into her blonde hair.

Snivels would have been wearing one of the most smug of grins if his attention wasn't on something else. He turned to Amber, who was looking at him expectantly. "I may have just realized something," he said. "I'm the Prince of Pokémon, so, if you become my mate, that would make you..."

"A princess," Amber finished. She looked rather shocked at this realization, but it quickly faded and was replaced wih a smile. "Princess Amber. I like the sound of that."

Snivels smiled back at her. "Me, too."

The look in their eyes shouted out unspoken words, and they made sure to seal them with a long-awaited kiss.

The Electric-Type Legendaries watched the romantic scenes unfold in front of them, smug grins on all their faces. "Well," Plasmoid said, folding his arms across his chest, "It's about time."

* * *

Long after the occurrence at the docks, the members of Team Go-Getters were seeing off their new comrades, as the Electric-Type Legendaries headed back to their headquarters, wherever that would be. The Electrike and Mareep from the other night had decided to stay on Berk with their new friends, seeing as they didn't have anywhere better to go. Snivels introduced them as Raika and Amp.

Astrid and Hiccup were back in their Special Spot, recounting the events that had previously occurred. "I didn't really mean to scare you guys," Hiccup said, "I was just trying to protect Toothless."

Astrid punched him, but not too hard. "I know you were," she said, "But just try not to be so reckless all the time, okay?"

Hiccup shrugged. "If that's what'll make you happy..." he started.

"I don't need you to promise that," Astrid said, "As girly as it may sound, this time I've spent with you has made me happier than I've ever been." Then, to compensate for her sappiness, she punched him again.

Despite the pain, Hiccup smiled. "I was actually going say the same thing about you," he said.

Astrid smiled back at him. "You don't have to," she said, taking his hand in her own. "I already know that."

Hiccup's smile widened at her words. "That's what I was hoping."

And for what seemed like the millionth time since the end of the Great Dragon War, their lips met.

* * *

 _No matter how much things change around here, Vikings are still Vikings. And as crazy as it sounds, they're not afraid to admit when they're wrong._

 _And neither are we._

* * *

 **Snivels: I sure hope this chapter makes our readers happy. That was quite the adventure!**

 **Blaze: I gotta say, I like where this stuff is going.**

 **Ninjark: **I'm also impressed with our writer's ideas.****

 **Snivels: I hope our fans leave us some awesome reviews!**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: What Flies Beneath

 **Snivels: Something about that title makes me nervous...**

 **Blaze: Relax, I'm sure everything will be fine. If anyone can handle it, it's us.**

 **Ninjark: Let's just hope you're right, because I've got a bad feeling about this too.**

 **Amber: I have to agree with those guys. You never really know what might become of such.**

 **Snivels: Maybe we should just start the episode and see for ourselves.**

* * *

 _Everybody has a past, even dragons and Pokémon. Sometimes that past can come back to haunt them. And when it does, you're going to need to be there for them._

 _But what I never realized was that Toothless's past is worse than most._

* * *

Hiccup groaned as he sleepily sat up in bed to address a problem he'd never needed to before.

Toothless was pacing the room restlessly, his eyes sweeping around the floor. It was like he was expecting something to burst out of the floorboards at any minute.

"Would you just go to sleep, bud?" he muttered when the Night Fury circled the room for the umpteenth time.

The dragon ignored him, and continued swishing his tail along the floor as he paced. Hiccup made a tired, exasperated noise at him and flung the blanket over his own head.

 _It's probably only a nightmare or a stomachache keeping him up,_ he thought to himself. _No more extra helpings of fish at dinner._

He was sort of right at Toothless's situation. It was a nightmare, but the bad dream would become real for the rest of the team soon enough.

* * *

The early morning would have been like any other, if it weren't for Snivels complaining about all the hubbub that was going on in the village below. Only half-listening, Hiccup assumed it was the usual hustle and bustle that was annoying his friend.

But that changed when he trudged outside and noticed that a great deal of Vikings were gathered around two massive holes that had somehow appeared in the middle of the plaza. The pits were perfectly round and expertly dug. They had obviously been dug overnight, but was there anything that could dig a hole that deep and that wide in one night, and multiple to boot?

The three trainers and their partners made it to the plaza in record time to get a closer look at the situation.

"Now _that's_ a hole," said a very impressed Ninjark.

"Any idea what ripped up the plaza to make it, though?" Blaze asked.

"I'm not entirely certain," Snivels said, looking off to the side. "But I think one of us wants to find out."

Hiccup, confused, promptly asked his partner, "Who?"

Snivels pointed in the direction he was looking and simply said, "Toothless."

Everyone turned to see the Night Fury sniffing the edge of one of the holes. The black dragon suddenly perked up before lowering his head and growling loudly into the hole. There was a brief second of stillness before Toothless suddenly leaped into the hole, flaring his wings and roaring at the top of his lungs.

Hiccup was the first to react, running to the hole his friend had just jumped into. "Wait, Toothless!" He stopped at the edge, not wanting to fall in.

But the Night Fury was nowhere to be seen. He had already gone down the tunnel that the holes were connected to. Hiccup sighed in disappointment at his friend's sudden departure. "What's gotten into him all of a sudden?"

No sooner had he asked that question, a mound of dirt suddenly rose up from the ground. The members of Team Go-Getters all held their breath as the dirt piled over to reveal...a young Gible looking up at them curiously.

" _Gible?_ "

Snivels was the only one who didn't relax at the sight of the Dragon and Ground-Type. "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

As if on cue, a large, serpentine dragon covered in spines erupted from the ground, sending dirt clumps everywhere. The creature was enough to give anyone nightmares, with its needle-sharp teeth and its pupil-less gaze.

The Gible buried itself into the ground, fearful of what had just emerged. Even Astrid was frightened by the dragon's sudden appearance.

Heather wisely took a step back. "Don't need the Book of Dragons to know what that is," she said, pausing to suck in a breath of air. "Whispering Death."

The serpentine dragon shot the group a stony glare before tunneling back underground. Snivels watched as the dragon's tail disappeared, muttering under his breath, "Earthcracker."

Seconds later, the Whispering Death, Earthcracker, emerged from the ground again, this time with a black form clinging to his snake-like body.

"Toothless!"

Ignoring Hiccup's cry, the angry Night Fury clawed at Earthcracker's hide, desperately holding on as the Whispering Death spiraled out of control, trying to shake his rival off. The scuffle between the two fire-breathing reptiles attracted the attention of nearly the entire village, including Snotlout, who was at the yak farm shoveling yak droppings for the gazillionth time.

A hard jerk from Earthcracker shook Toothless off of the dragon's hide. The Night Fury tried to steady himself as he plummeted to the ground. The little Gible, who had been watching from a small hole, suddenly leaped out, releasing a blue, dragon-shaped energy that covered its body, allowing it to fly up and catch Toothless in mid-air.

A Dragon Rush.

Gible landed in front of Team Go-Getters, holding an incredibly annoyed Toothless triumphantly above his head, just as the energy faded. The Night Fury growled at the Land Shark Pokémon, prompting it to set him down. Hiccup ran to meet his friend, but Toothless just shook himself off and went to confront Earthcracker, without so much as a backward glance.

Hiccup's heart nearly crumbled. Next to Astrid and Snivels, Toothless was the most treasured thing to him. He couldn't lose his friend, especially to something as complicated as a rogue dragon. The Night Fury had opened his eyes to the real facts, a new way of life that didn't involve fighting.

Earthcracker lunged at Toothless, mouth agape, moving at blinding speed. Toothless dodged his bite, and the Whispering Death made a flexible turn around the Night Fury when he felt his jaws close on empty air. Not fooled by the maneuver, Toothless struck like lightning, dragging Earthcracker down with his teeth and claws and wrestling his foe to the ground. Not one to be outdone, Earthcracker looped a coil around Toothless to constrict him, but as soon as Toothless loosened his grip and gave an opening, he fled.

Once he had put a safe distance between himself and the incensed Night Fury, Earthcracker rattled his teeth. Not easily intimidated, Toothless fired off several blasts of blue fire at the slithering snake-like dragon. Unfortunately, Earthcracker was ready for him. He twisted around and avoided all the plasma blasts.

Hiccup noticed this. From the looks of things, Earthcracker had some experience fighting Night Furies.

Meanwhile, Toothless was struggling to get into the air, flapping his wings and leaping as high as he could, but always crash-landing painfully. Without Hiccup to operate the stirrup and get the prosthetic tail fin to function, there was no way Toothless could get into the air. He was at a disadvantage.

When Hiccup tried to get into the saddle, though, Toothless kicked him right off without so much as a glance in his direction. He resumed his pursuit of Earthcracker, now hissing with what sounded like laughter, and left his rider in the dust.

Dumbstruck, Hiccup murmured out, "Toothless, what...what's wrong?"

Now that Toothless and Earthcracker were moving off to another end of the plaza, the rest of the small group of friends hurried over to where Hiccup was lying in the dirt. It was Astrid who helped him onto his feet (well, foot and a half).

"What was that all about?" the Haddock-to-be asked her fiancé, but he didn't get the chance to answer.

Earthcracker held his tail high above him and swung the appendage with a violent arc. Three spines flew toward Toothless and embedded themselves in the ground, forming a triangle around him. Not giving him a chance to react, the Whispering Death launched another flurry of spines, one of which stabbed itself right into Toothless's back leg. The Night Fury shrieked in pain.

Suddenly, the clouds that had been clogging up the sky began to clear up. The plaza gradually brightened as the sun peeked through the dispersing curtain. Earthcracker seemed to wince at how bright everything was, and plowed his head into the ground. He disappeared in seconds and burrowed off to who knows where, leaving only a trail of uneven dirt behind him.

Only then did Toothless calm down somewhat, finally allowing Hiccup to get near him. "Guys, he's hurt!"

"He's not the only one," Snivels called out, revealing a stray spine that had gotten stuck in his tail.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, the Gible dug down into the earth and disappeared.

* * *

By the time evening rolled around, there had been no sign of the intruding Whispering Death. Toothless had calmed down enough to allow the spine in his leg to be removed so his wounds could be properly treated. All it had taken was a strong tug from Kickin' Hawk for the Whispering Death spine to pop out. Toothless howled with pain, but didn't struggle.

Kickin' Hawk grabbed a rag and started to dab Toothless's wound with it. "He'll be sore for a few days," the Hawlucha said, examining the puncture wound, "But other than that, he should be fine." Blaze handed him a bandage, which he then wrapped around Toothless's leg to cover the wound.

Snivels was being a little less cooperative, and much more verbal.

"OW! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Careful, this is the only tail I've got!"

Hiccup was the one who was trying to remove the spine in Snivels's tail, but with minimal success. It wasn't in deep enough to leave a scar, but the way the Servine was screaming made pulling it out a rather difficult task.

Astrid, of course, had no trouble yanking it out. And she wasn't swayed by the green fluid oozing from the wound, unlike Hiccup, who had to grab a bucket when he felt the urge to empty his stomach.

"You guys don't have to tell me I need to rest," Snivels said as Amber wrapped a bandage around his tail. "Toothless might need some persuasion, though."

Indeed, despite a slight limp in his back leg, Toothless had resumed his act of pacing the floor. The reasoning behind it was very much clear to Hiccup this time. "You know we're all here for you, bud," he said, "It'll be okay."

Toothless's expression softened a little, and he rested his head on Hiccup's back, the closest he could get to returning the hug.

Much later, when the members of Team Go-Getters were all asleep, Toothless jolted awake and bounded out the window and into the woods. He had a score to settle with Earthcracker, and although he hated to admit it, this was a battle he had to fight alone.

* * *

When Hiccup woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was that a certain Night Fury was nowhere to be seen. Throwing himself out of bed, down the stairs, and out the door, his eyes glancing every which way to find even a small touch of the familiar black scales, his despaired shout echoed out through the trees.

"TOOTHLESS!"

His shout woke the other team members, who scrambled outside to find their leader wide-eyed and hyperventilating.

"This is so not normal," he decided. "Toothless went after that dragon...alone."

* * *

Let it be known that searching for a particular kind of dragon in a forest as vast as the one on Berk was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Whenever Team Go-Getters needed to go on such missions, the only weapon that was brought was the double-bladed axe Astrid always kept on her person. What, with all the natural weapons their Pokémon had, there was hardly ever cause for any extra cargo.

Plus, Hiccup wasn't any more capable of wielding anything but a knife that he had been when he met Toothless. With the Night Fury missing, he had no choice but to ride behind Astrid on Stormfly's back.

They found something promising after what was only the fifth clearing they soared over.

"Look down there!" Snivels yelled, reaching over Buck the Grapple Grounder's head and pointing at the forest ahead of them.

The closer they flew, the more Team Go-Getters began to see the series of holes dominating the otherwise featureless clearing. There weren't even any trees around, except for two, which had been recently toppled. Nobody waited for Hiccup's command before urging their dragons down and preparing to land.

Getting off their mounts' backs once they had landed, the large group of three trainers and many Pokémon crept up to the holes to investigate.

Blaze sighed. "We've been at this for two hours," she said. "And the closest we've ever gotten to finding Toothless is a bunch of tunnels!"

"I don't like this anymore than you do," Hiccup said as he examined the holes. "But Toothless is out there alone, and most importantly, there's a rogue Whispering Death on this island!"

Astrid sighed. "We appreciate your motives, but Blaze is right. We're getting nowhere with this."

Suddenly, the dragons started growing rather restless for seemingly no reason at all.

"Windshear, what's wrong?" asked Heather.

"Guys, calm down," Snivels warned. Then he assumed a wary stance. "Wait a minute. Everyone, quiet!"

They obeyed, but as the seconds ticked by, no one could hear anything besides the wind and the occasional bird calling from the trees. But it didn't last long. A slight vibration could be picked up underfoot. The vibrations grew stronger and more significant, until the ground was definitely shaking. While the tremors kept growing worse as time passed, a faint whispering began to reach their ears.

"Looks like we beat Toothless," gulped Ninjark.

No sooner after he had spoken, a mound of dirt suddenly rose up from the ground. Expecting the worst, everyone braced for the arrival of the Whispering Death.

But instead, the Gible from the day before popped out, eying its newfound friends in undying interest.

Just as the members of Team Go-Getters let out a sigh of relief, Earthcracker erupted from the ground, startling the Gible, who ran and hid behind Tito. "Yeah, we win," Blaze said, unenthusiastically, as the serpentine dragon glared down at them all.

Hiccup didn't need to look over his shoulder to tell that his friends were all sharing looks of horror. Despite the gravity of the situation, he couldn't help but make a characteristically sarcastic remark. "Somehow I don't feel like a winner."

* * *

 **Reviews, please.**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28: A Dragon's Grudge

 **Snivels: Wow, I can't believe we've made this far! I can still remember when I was a Snivy! Of course, who could forget that?**

 **Blaze: Well, you are pretty memorable.**

 **Snivels: I'll take that as a compliment.**

 **Ninjark: We left off on a pretty scary note. I hope it all turns out okay.**

 **Snivels: Don't worry, the good guys always win!**

* * *

Earthcracker's pupil-less eyes glared down at the rather large group of teenagers, dragons, and Pokémon; searching for the Night Fury that dare be on the same island as he. None of the Go-Getters moved an inch as Earthcracker's eyes looked them over.

Snivels took some quick glances amongst his friends. "Ideas, anyone?" he asked in a voice he hoped was quiet enough so that it didn't provoke Earthcracker.

Hiccup took a step closer to the angry Whispering Death. That didn't go unnoticed. "Do you actually have a plan," Astrid asked, "Or are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Keeping his eyes on the angry dragon, Hiccup replied, "If I can train him, maybe he'll leave Toothless alone. Everything will go back to normal. Just let me approach him quietly, while he's calm."

"Famous last words," Blaze mumbled to herself.

Hiccup turned back around, and saw Earthcracker nearly on top of him, ready to strike. By reflex, Hiccup flinched and held out his hand at arm's length - and to his surprise, the Whispering Death stopped, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

Hesitantly, Hiccup inched his hand a little closer to Earthcracker. He could hear the dragon's breaths being inhaled through his nostrils, and see his pupil-less eyes widen a little with curiosity. A little ray of hope dawned inside of Hiccup. Maybe he could train this dragon.

But then, Earthcracker changed his mind, diving under the ground with one sinuous movement and a massive cloud of dust.

Hiccup stared down into the hole Earthcracker had just dug form himself to disappear into. Noticing the look in his eyes, Astrid spoke up. "Hiccup, I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no."

He made no indication that he acknowledged that, because the moment she finished, he jumped right in, landing at the bottom of the new tunnel rather smoothly.

"Why does he always do that?" Astrid fumed.

Knowing she'd hate to see Hiccup go alone, Snivels slid down into the hole as well. "If you think about it, it's good that he has initiative," he called out as he descended.

Sure, he had a point, but that didn't make Astrid feel any better.

* * *

Jaw set and fists clenched, Hiccup stepped away from the circle of light that the hole provided from above and entered the vast tunnels. There was a long path extending through the earth in front of him, dark enough so that he couldn't make out anything more than twenty feet away, There were even darker spots dotting the walls of the tunnel, probably other passageways branching off of this one.

"This guy has been busy," Hiccup murmured to himself.

The sound of dirt rolling down into the tunnels made him turn around. Just in time to see Snivels slide down to the soil at the bottom of the pit.

"Thanks, Snivs," greeted Hiccup, relieved to have a friend by his side. "I should have expected you'd follow me down here."

Snivels shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey, wherever my trainer goes, I go."

They both started at the sound of a distant, echoing roar that came from further down the tunnel. Nothing leapt out at them, however. Judging the complex to be safe at the moment, Hiccup began to walk forward in order to explore. Gingerly, Snivels followed him.

"I know we're trying to figure out why Earthcracker is here and all," the Servine said. "But even I know better than to go wandering around his underground home."

Peering down a side tunnel, Hiccup felt his blood run cold as he witnessed the vague outline of the Whispering Death's tail wind through the darkness on the other side. If he had been there a second earlier, the dragon would have noticed him, and then...he didn't even bear thinking about that. This was Earthcracker's domain, he ruled here, not Team Go-Getters.

Squashing his fear, he called out to Snivels. "There he goes, let's follow him!"

It took the Servine a few seconds to wrestle with his conscience before he followed Hiccup on his exploration.

The Whispering Death tunnels seemed to go on forever and in every direction possible. Soon, neither of them knew how far, or for how long, they had traveled. It was almost too dark to see, but shafts of light occasionally shone down from holes in the ceiling, which helped to light the way. Hiccup and Snivels stuck to the main path as mush as possible so as not to get lost, and peered into whatever side tunnel they came across in hopes of catching a glimpse of their quarry. The only thing they ever heard from him, though, were the distant hisses or rattling spines and teeth, which was very unnerving.

They were beginning to approach another patch of light, this one almost as wide as the hole they had fallen into. It ended up saving their lives, for without it, they never would have seen Earthcracker suddenly lurch out from a side tunnel. The dragon swung his head and neck down one end of the main tunnel, and Hiccup took this opportunity to hustle himself, and Snivels, into a shallow alcove. And they were just in time, too, as the Whispering Death slithered leisurely past them only a second later, He cringed when he came to a patch of sunlight, then hastily slithered around it before continuing on his way.

Hiccup was watching closely, waiting for the dragon to move on, when Snivels nudged him. When he was sure he had his friend's attention, the Servine pointed at something on Earthcracker's flank. There, somewhere near the middle of his body, was a series of nasty-looking, dark red scars, contrasting with the grey and pale blue color of his scales. They looked old, but seemed to have never healed properly, giving them a jagged appearance.

When the Whispering Death disappeared down the tunnel, Hiccup asked, "Was that a bite mark?"

Nodding, Snivels replied, "Not just any bite mark. That was a _Night Fury_ bite mark. That's why Toothless is hunting Earthcracker."

"They have a history," Hiccup finished for him.

"A grudge," he added.

"How long do dragons carry a grudge?" Hiccup wondered.

"That depends," Snivels said, "Most of the time, it's to the death."

If luck was against them, Toothless would never stop hunting Earthcracker as long as the Whispering Death remained on Berk.

"Let's get out of here before Earthcracker comes back," muttered Hiccup.

"Good idea," Snivels said, promptly following his trainer as he headed back the way they had come.

No sooner had they started down the path, they heard a hissing noise. They all turned to see Earthcracker in the tunnel behind them, his jaws open, ready to lunge. "Should we run for our lives?" Snivels asked, reasonably fearful.

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, let's."

* * *

"They've been down there forever!" Astrid complained. She had been waiting by the hole since Hiccup had gone in, and was getting very worried and impatient. "Hiccup! Snivels!" she called.

Almost instantly, the two friends appeared at the bottom of the pit as if on command.

"Yep, right here!" Hiccup confirmed.

"We really need to get out of this hole!" Snivels shouted.

The ground began to tremble again, and Astrid caught sight of a trail of displaced dirt making its way toward them from the far distance. Earthcracker was closing in fast.

Thinking quickly, Snivels grabbed onto Hiccup firmly before unleashing a Leaf Tornado that propelled them out of the hole moments before Earthcracker reached the area where they'd been standing. The leaf-infested winds from the attack sent the duo flying into the air for a few precious seconds before they both tumbled to the ground.

"Thanks," Hiccup forced out as he picked himself up.

Snivels, who ended up cushioning his friend's fall, grumbled out, "Don't mention it."

Just seconds after he said that, Earthcracker burst out from underground. "I don't think he's too keen on having visitors," Amber said, frightfully.

"Can we get out of here?" squeaked Ninjark.

"No," Hiccup said, strongly, "I know that I can train this dragon. Does anyone have some Dragon Nip?"

"Not a good idea," Snivels said quickly, pulling himself to his feet. "Whispering Deaths are allergic to Dragon Nip."

At that moment, Earthcracker landed, his undying glare fixated on the ones who dared to follow him into his tunnels. He probably would have lunged at them if a certain black figure hadn't pounced on him. Hiccup instantly knew what it was.

"Toothless!"

Giving off a threatening roar, Toothless flared out his wings. He was ready to face his rival. But Earthcracker wasn't the least bit intimidated. But he was majorly surprised when all the other dragons rushed forward and stood next to Toothless. There was no way they'd let the Night Fury fight that dragon alone. Knowing the odds were against him, Earthcracker promptly borrowed his way back underground.

The minute Earthcracker was gone, Hiccup started forward. Toothless noticed and gave him a warning growl. Hiccup hesitated before speaking firmly, but with kindness. "Toothless, I know what's going on with you and that other dragon. Just let me help you!"

Toothless seemed to calm down, but he suddenly gave a low growl and dashed off in pursuit of Earthcracker. Before Hiccup could follow, Toothless turned and shot a plasma blast at the ground in front of his rider. He then proceeded to bound off in search of the Whispering Death.

Snivels approached his downhearted trainer. "He said that it's nothing personal," the Servine said, "But this is a battle he has to fight alone."

Hiccup stared after the receding Night Fury, refusing to accept what Snivels had said.

* * *

It didn't take long for everyone to mount their dragons and take off in search of the persistent Night Fury.

Hiccup and Astrid were flying on Stormfly, at the front of the group. The Deadly Nadder kept her eyes and nose moving, in case she caught sight or scent of something from down below.

Astrid could sense Hiccup's despair and looked at him over her shoulder. "He's just trying to protect you."

Her words made him feel a bit better. But despite this, he knew he needed to face the truth. "It's not a fair fight," he said, "If Toothless is going to win, he has to fly, and he can't fly without me."

Astrid could sense the pain in his voice, and for the first time in her life, she felt helpless. Maybe it was something in the back of her head that was still angry about the way her voice sounded, or the fact that she still couldn't let go of the way she'd treated him all those years before, or maybe it was just sympathy she felt. Her eyes were starting to sting, she couldn't cry in front of him, not while he was already upset enough about his friend. It wasn't that she'd never cried before, because she had, she had cried whenever she saw Hiccup in his coma after the defeat of the Red Death; afraid, for the first time in her life, that she'd never get the chance to tell him how she truly felt. She'd never had a moment where she didn't know what to say, and she was embarrassed, to say in the least.

But she was strong.

She'd heard Hiccup tell her so many times how strong she was, how he admired her bravery, and how he loved her for it. If that was the definition of true love, then she wouldn't want it any other way.

 _If words fail, he'll understand._

 _He'll understand._

She settled for a simple, non-offensive question: "So, what are you going to do?"

Hiccup, worried by her long silence, suddenly brightened up at her question. He'd do whatever he could to protect his friends from whatever dangers came their way. Including Toothless.

"I have an idea," he said, "But we need to find Toothless, and soon."

Happy to have the old Hiccup back, Astrid yelled back for the others to fly faster. She turned to look back at the boy who had stolen her heart. Never a day went by without him continuing to surprise and impress her over and over again.

* * *

No one knew for sure how long it had been before they finally found Toothless. The Night Fury was sniffing along the ground, trying to locate his ever-digging foe. In the seconds it took for a Speed Stinger to rush in and sting them, the riders all touched down, with Stormfly landing right next to Toothless.

Initially, the Night Fury gave them somewhat of a hostile response, but he calmed instantly when he realized it was only his friends. Wordlessly, Hiccup dismounted Stormfly and held his hand out to the Night Fury. Toothless only hesitated an instant before replying. He nuzzled Hiccup's hand with his nose, a simple gesture that showed that their trust still lingered.

Turning back to face his friend, Hiccup reached out and patted Toothless's muzzle. "Hey bud," Hiccup said, softly, "You had me so worried for a while. You haven't been yourself lately." Toothless warbled an apology, which Hiccup could tell was very heartfelt. Hiccup smiled and replied, "That's okay. It's good to see you're still you." Toothless leaned up to nuzzle his friend's face, but was interrupted by the untimely arrival of Earthcracker.

The serpentine dragon burst out of the ground, the Gible from before flying out and landing face-first at Snivels's feet. Earthcracker hissed a challenge, which Toothless accepted after a quick apologetic look at Hiccup. The Gible started to rush forward, but was stopped by Toothless's roar. Knowing that it wasn't his fight, all the other dragons backed away.

Toothless leapt into the air with a thrust from his wings, spitting blue fire madly. Earthcracker hissed as if laughing, dodging the blasts that came from above, then watched as his enemy tried and failed to remain airborne. When Toothless began to fall, the Whispering Death stretched up and hit him, sending the Night Fury into the dirt. He whipped out his tail next, swatting Toothless across the small clearing. Toothles leapt again, but the Whispering Death was ready for him - he blasted a ring of fire from his mouth, which struck the Night Fury dead on.

The Whispering Death hissed with laughter, flying away into the forest. Driven mad with anger, Toothless continuously pounced at his foe. But he couldn't hit anything in his delirious rage, since his nemesis kept twisting and coiling out of the way. All of a sudden, Earthcracker turned around and attacked, raising his head before swooping down with a bite. Toothless turned, but wasn't quick enough to avoid a second blast of fire. The explosion was so close that it knocked him away a far distance, tumbling through the bushes and out of sight.

"The sea is that way!" Hiccup yelled to his friends. "If they go any further, one of them is going to end up falling in the ocean!"

"Let's hope it's the death worm, then," remarked Blaze.

The group, humans and Pokémon and dragons, charged forward after Toothless and Earthcracker and found themselves on a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean. They also saw that Toothless was cornered with his back to the sea. Despite the precarious position, though, the Night Fury was still willing to fight.

Toothless threw his head back, roaring his loudest yet. That didn't deter Earthcracker, though, if anything the Whispering Death seemed to grow more confident. Seeing that the battle wasn't over yet, he rapidly burrowed into the rock.

Tremors began to shake the ground, and a whole section of the cliff began to fall apart. As rocks tumbled into the ocean far below, Toothless became trapped on an increasingly-small island projecting up from the choppy waters, with his rider watching helplessly from the other side of the new gap.

The island trembled, and Earthcracker burrowed out from the side. Raising his head high above Toothless, he released a triumphant roar. The Night Fury noticed his friends at the edge of the cliff, but he ignored the sight. He only wanted to take Earthcracker down.

Speaking of that nightmarish dragon, he let out another blast of fire, forcing Toothless to retreat. He felt his leg slip over the edge of the island, and realized he was only a few inches away from plummeting helplessly into the sea. With no other option, Toothless raised his head and let out a shriek.

Snivels heard the Night Fury loud and clear. "He's calling for help."

That was when a bold, risky, incredibly idiotic plan came to Hiccup's mind. He had no other choice but to do it. He took a deep breath before stepping off of the cliff.

Astrid was the most shocked at what Hiccup had just done. She'd just begun to accept the fact that she'd be spending the rest of her life with Hiccup, the only one who truly loved her for who she was, and here he was falling off a cliff like he didn't have a care in the world!

But Toothless understood the purpose of Hiccup's action and jumped after him, catching the boy on his back. And just like that, the two of them were back in the air, Hiccup sitting in the saddle and working the stirrup that controlled Toothless's prosthetic tail.

Earthcracker went to follow them, but shrieked as a patch of sunlight shone in his eyes. The Whispering Death tunneled underground to make his escape. Snivels noticed this and remembered something he'd learned about Whispering Deaths while he was living in the wild. "He's afraid of the sunlight!" he shouted to Hiccup. "That's his weakness!"

It made sense, seeing as Earthcracker's species spent most of their time in darkness. Hiccup steered Toothless back towards the dazed serpentine dragon. "Okay, bud," he said, "Let's keep him above ground!"

From high up in the air, the pair could see Whispering Death burrows scattered all across the forest, wide enough around to serve as prime targets. They dove straight for one of the holes, and Toothless fired a plasma blast directly inside. Skimming the tops of the trees, he did the same with four more holes. Pillars of blue fire exploded from the holes whenever he shot his fire into them.

On the fifth hole, Earthcracker emerged. Hiccup instantly spotted him and steered Toothless towards him to finish the battle.

The Whispering Death lunged at them the moment they got in range, moving like he had been hurled from a sling. However, Toothless was too agile for him, and dodged his teeth and spines. Hiccup clicked the stirrup for the final time, and, framed by the sunlight that was now pouring down from the gaps in the clouds, Toothless charged.

Blinded, Earthcracker couldn't do a thing to defend himself. The force of Toothless tackling him sent him flying. Toothless leapt on top of the Whispering Death as soon as he had stopped skidding across the ground, preparing to end things once and for all.

Snivels suddenly ran in front of the Night Fury, blocking his aim. Toothless quickly swallowed the gases that had been building up in the back of his throat. "He's already been beaten, Toothless," Snivels said, boldly. "Let him go." Toothless hesitated slightly before nodding and stepping off of the fallen Whispering Death.

Earthcracker chose that time to get up, amazed that the Night Fury had spared his life. With some reluctance, he bowed his head in respect before digging his way back underground.

He didn't resurface.

Hiccup hopped off of Toothless's back and hugged the dragon's neck. Toothless crooned happily. There would be no need for such aggression, now that Earthcracker was leaving. And, if they ever met again, it would be under less violent circumstances.

The others flew over on their dragons and dismounted. "Don't ever do that again!" Astrid said, emphasizing her point by slugging Hiccup in the shoulder.

A small nip on Snivels's tail got him looking down at the Gible that had been following them around all day. This time, the Land Shark Pokémon was holding an egg that was almost the size as he was.

Taking the egg into his hands, Snivels realized he had a good idea what species it belonged to. He turned to Hiccup, the meaning of his gaze unmistakable.

 _Please, Hiccup, don't say no!_

* * *

The Gible, named Chomper, waited near the Whispering Death egg. The little Dragon and Ground-type had decided to join Team Go-Getters, as he'd been inspired by their bravery and teamwork. Plus, it gave him added protection against foes that were bigger and more deadly than he was.

But his life wasn't complete without a colleague.

The Whispering Death egg started to wobble, and Snivels was there in an instant. He submerged the egg in a nearby, water-filled washtub that had been set up beforehand as a precaution.

There was a rather large booming sound, and water poured out of the washtub as a baby Whispering Death emerged, shaken by the experience, but very much alive. Snivels was smiled as he greeted him.

"Hey, Terrorspin, welcome to the family!"

Eyes landing on the compassionate Servine, Terrorspin practically leaped into Snivels's waiting arms. Snivels hugged the baby close in response.

"I've got a lot to teach you about being a Go-Getter."

* * *

 _When our past rears its ugly head, it usually doesn't have six rows of razor-sharp teeth and a bad attitude._

 _But if it does, you're going to need a friend who has your back._

 _I will always have Toothless's back._

 _And I know that my friends, including him, will always have mine._

* * *

 **Me: YES! Finally, the chapter is done! This took a lot longer than I expected.**

 **Snivels: I'll say. Cottonmouth25 was probably bored out of his mind waiting for this thing!**

 **Me: Reviews are appreciated.**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29: The Secret of My Excess

 **Captain: Wait, wasn't this supposed to be "Twinsanity?"**

 **Snivels: Actually, this is pretty much a reprise of the whole episode. I hope old Cotton won't be too disappointed.**

 **Blaze: I wouldn't be surprised if he berated us for "ruining" what might be one of his favorite episodes.**

 **Ninjark: I hope he doesn't. I'm really quite attached to my hide.**

 **Tito: The likelihood of Cotton getting mad is, at the moment, 50-50.**

 **Phoxie: I hope he doesn't mind us calling him "Cotton."**

 **Snivels: Maybe we should start before the stakes raise any higher.**

* * *

 _Pokémon and dragons all have their secrets, big or small. And it can vary how and when you'll find out._

 _But when those secrets start to come through, you'd better be ready._

* * *

Snivels woke up that morning to the smell of something burning. His eyes shot open, and he hastily raced down the stairs, fearing the worst. If the house was on fire, then the members of Team Go-Getters would have to take drastic action to ensure that no one got hurt, and that the house would receive as little damage as possible.

But when he got down to he main level, he noticed several burnt food dishes on the table. Fish and bacon were charred blacker than a Night Fury, eggs were reduced to a bubbling, gooey mass, even the drinks were gray and gloppy.

Hiccup, Blaze, Heather, and Ninjark were already sitting down at the table, picking at their food in disgust. Snivels nervously turned his head to see Astrid boiling a pot of something in the fireplace while a pan of brown-colored glop sat off to the side. _Oh, no,_ Snivels thought to himself.

Astrid turned and saw the Servine standing a few feet away. "Morning," she greeted, "You hungry?"

Snivels hastily shook his head. "Thanks, but I think I can last." That wasn't a lie, the smell of whatever in the whole wide world was burning over the fire had made him lose his appetite completely.

Hiccup sighed as he forced a microscopic bite of piping-hot goop down his throat. "Don't you think it's nice of Astrid to make us breakfast?" he asked.

"Even though the girl has no clue how to cook," Ninjark muttered as he literally drowned his disgusting pile of burnt-to-a-crisp scrambled eggs in condiments in an attempt to mask the terrible taste.

A sharp elbow to his side brought the Frogadier's attention to Blaze, who pointed at Astrid. The blonde was eyeing the Bubble Frog Pokémon warningly.

Ninjark gulped. "Oops, did I say that out loud?" He forced a smile and gave Astrid a thumbs-up. "Yum!"

"I think I'll go check on the dragons," Snivels muttered to no one in particular as he headed out the door.

No sooner did he leave when Spike trudged down the stairs. The Shiny Druddigon was still a bit sleepy, but he increased the speed in his step when he noticed the food on the table. Not caring that it was burnt and gloppy, Spike swallowed every bite of the so-called food, much to the surprise of Hiccup. Second later, Spike fell to the floor, his belly full, and licked his lips.

"Guys! Come out here! Quick!"

Snivels's yell directed the trainers' attention off of Spike, and they all made a mad dash for the door. In the occurring scramble, Hiccup somehow managed to make his way outside and over to the Dragon's Meadow. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Snivels's back was facing Hiccup when he arrived, and the Servine turned around with a large smile on his face whilst holding a certain Whispering Death dragonet. "Terrorspin said his first word!"

Hiccup gave a look similar to the one Snivels had worn earlier. "What?"

Snivels held the baby Whispering Death so that he was eye level with Hiccup. "Go on, Terry," Snivels persuaded, a large grin on his face, "Say it again."

Terrorspin was silent before he suddenly hiccupped. Hiccup's expression changed from confused to frustrated in less than an instant. "Not funny, Snivels."

"Really?" the Servine taunted in a friendly manner. "You're named after a bodily function that involves a spasming diaphragm. That's funny, ask anyone!" Snivels started laughing as Terrorspin hiccupped again.

"It's bad enough having Snotlout and the twins tease me about it," Hiccup said. "I don't need you trying to add more bad humor to it!" Terrorspin responded by hiccupping. Snivels was laughing too hard to say anything.

It was about then that Kickin' Hawk swooped in with a scroll of paper in his hand, the sound of his wings catching Hiccup's attention almost instantly. "Bad news," he said. Snivels stopped laughing and shifted his attention to the Hawlucha, who opened the scroll. "The Berserkers are coming to Berk."

Terrorspin hiccupped.

* * *

The only reasonable thing Hiccup could do when he heard the Berserkers would be arriving was go ask his father about it.

He and Toothless and Snivels, who were tailing him as usual, reached the front doorstep and walked through the door to find Gobber trying to fasten a fancy-looking belt around Stoick's waist. It was no easy task - the chief wasn't called Stoick _the Vast_ for nothing. Stoick's Beartic, Brumous, was at the table, idly tapping his claws against the wood.

"Suck in your gut, Stoick!" Gobber grunted, pulling harder on the belt.

"It's sucked Gobber!" the chief wheezed in reply. "It doesn't suck any more than this!"

A chuckle escaped Snivels's mouth. "Yeah, that does suck."

It was only now that Hiccup remembered why he had come here. "So, it's that time of year again?"

Stoick managed enough air to reply, "Yep, today's the annual treaty-signing with the Berserker tribe."

"They've really got to change that name," snorted Gobber. "When your chief's called Oswald the _Agreeable_ and you haven't been to war in _fifty years_?"

"Sounds like a miracle to me," Snivels muttered under his breath.

Hiccup's eye twitched a little and his heart skipped a beat when he remembered something else. "Oh, please tell me Oswald's not bringing that lunatic kid of his..."

"Dagur?" the blacksmith confirmed. "Ah, he'll be here."

Why did that name sound so much like it belonged to a demon in disguise?

"Let me guess," Hiccup said. "I'm supposed to keep him from breaking stuff."

But Stoick had something different in mind. "Actually, I have a more important job for you. I need you to hide all the dragons."

If Snivels had eyebrows, he would have raised one. "From Oswald the Agreeable?"

Nodding, Stoick replied, "Just because we haven't had war for fifty years doesn't mean they still can't go...well, berserk. The dragons could be seen as a sign of aggression. Better blissful than bloody, I always say."

"Says the high overlord of hypocrisy," Snivels grumbled.

Not hearing him, Gobber piled on, "The last thing we want is another Berserker skirmish. They tend to play for keeps."

Now, Hiccup didn't really understand what the big deal was, but he knew it was wise to do as he was asked. Maybe not by his own father, though.

"Sorry, Toothless," he murmured. "We'll have to spend the day apart tomorrow." He patted the Night Fury's head apologetically before he and his two friends exited the house and headed back up towards Raven Point.

* * *

It took a lot of work to round up all of Team Go-Getters, but they were finally on their way to herding every last dragon and Dragon-type Pokémon to a neighboring island. The dragons made up an absolutely massive group - not as big as the hoard they had seen during the breeding migration, but still huge - that encompassed the land and the sky. There were a few communication problems when it came time to inform the dragons of the big move, but in a surprisingly short amount of time, the entire population was ready to relocate until further notice.

"You said Dagur was coming?" Ninjark asked Hiccup as he and Heather flew by on Windshear. "What's he like?"

Hiccup's answer made them all cringe. "Last time he was here, he used me as a knife-throwing target!"

Astrid and Stormfly flew up next to her fiancé and his Night Fury. "That idiot should be locked up in a cage!"

The rest of the conversation was lost to Hiccup when something big slammed down onto Toothless's back and knocked them out of the air. When they landed, Hiccup found himself lying on his back with a green and orange-colored Druddigon that was twice as big as Spike on top of him. The Cave Pokémon growled in a a friendly manner, nosing Hiccup's face and playfully swatting his claws at his auburn hair.

It was right about then that Hiccup realized the Druddigon _was_ Spike.

Straining to push the now-larger Cave Pokémon off of him, Hiccup couldn't help but ask, "Spike, what are you doing? And how did you grow so fast?"

"He's maturing," came an answer from Kickin' Hawk as he and the rest of the team landed nearby. It hadn't taken them long to notice their leader's absence from the air.

Spike picked himself off of his master and reached into one of the saddlebags hanging from Toothless's sides. The Shiny Druddigon pulled out an apple and devoured it in one bite.

"Pokémon that don't have any sort of evolved forms grow differently," Kickin' Hawk explained. "They start out small, then, when the reach a certain age, they start getting bigger. Unfortunately, this process cannot be controlled, or predicted. During that time, they need to consume increased amounts of food in order to fuel the growing process."

As if on cue, Spike was surrounded by a light blue aura that gave off a much weaker glow than a typical evolution. Mostly because it was not an evolution.

It was a growth spurt.

And the sound it was providing was not all that pleasant. Bones creaked and groaned as they stretched and grew, and a terrible swishing sound from inside Spike's body indicated that his innards were also getting bigger, and shifting into new places. Spike's head became more angular, his scales hardening until they were rougher than rocks. When it stopped, Spike was now as tall as Hiccup.

This couldn't have happened at a worse time. Hiccup picked himself up off the ground. "Well, we need to hide him before the Berserkers - "

Suddenly, the low drone of a horn rang our from the far distance.

"...are here," Astrid finished for him.

No one saw Kickin' Hawk's eyes harden. "Great," he muttered. "Just _great_."

* * *

There was no time for Hiccup to help his friends finish moving all of the dragons off of Berk. Well, except for the ones they used as transportation - they needed them to head back to the island, after all. Hiccup had to go join his father, and Gobber, at the docks, waiting to welcome Oswald.

Normally, Hiccup would be happy to see the Berserker chief. Everybody liked Oswald the Agreeable. But if his demented son was coming, and he happened to find any sort of dragon during his stay and jump to the wrong conclusion...well, let's just say Hiccup wasn't the only one who'd be more than willing to see the back end of his boat when he and the Berserkers left Berk for another year.

Snivels was also there, as it was customary for the Pokémon belonging to the chief's family to attend as well. If it were up to him, though, he'd gladly pass up meeting with someone as insane as what he'd heard about Dagur.

Nervously, Hiccup eyed the twenty-odd Berserker warships that were anchored a few hundred yards out to sea. The biggest and most impressive of the ships, though - a humongous vessel with a Skrill painted on its sail - was advancing steadily toward the dock on which the representatives were waiting.

At last, it pulled up to the dock and dropped its anchor. A gangplank was lowered, and the Berserkers' herald - the same one that had accompanied Oswald on his last visit - walked down the plank to meet the welcoming committee.

"Presenting the almighty chief of the Berserkers!" announced the herald in a clear, carrying voice. "Cracker of skulls, slayer of beasts, the great, fearsome - "

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Snivels muttered under his breath, so the Berserkers wouldn't hear him.

The herald paused for dramatic effect before he finished. "Dagur the Deranged!"

That was when a sinking feeling took hold of Hiccup's heart and dragged it down to somewhere beneath the surface of the earth. The tall, lanky, and unpleasantly familiar figure of none other than Dagur hopped off the boat and made his way down to greet them. His helmet had two long, slightly bent horns rising up from it, and his armor had a clip securing a deadly-looking axe.

An equally familiar Pawniard, with some very similar mannerisms as the teen, followed suit. Hiccup recalled that his name was Deathblade, and he had been Dagur's favorite Pokémon since he'd been old enough to keep one for himself.

"Dagur?" Stoick repeated, shocked.

"Deranged?" Gobber repeated in equal shock.

"Oh no," Hiccup muttered.

There was a whizzing noise and a flash of steel, and Hiccup ducked. Dagur had whipped a knife out of nowhere and tossed it at him, which, in the past, would have probably been too fast for him to get away unscathed. But Hiccup's reflexes had improved considerably, thanks to months of riding Toothless and leading Team Go-Getters.

Dagur didn't know that, though, and sniffed with disappointment when his favorite target dodged the projectile.

An irritated Snivels opened his mouth to retort, but stopped at the sound of someone clearing their throat. He turned to see Kickin' Hawk hiding behind a short, wooden post a few feet away from them. The Hawlucha made a motion of zipping his lips shut, glaring at the Servine. Getting the message, Snivels kept his mouth shut.

"Dagur, where's your father?" asked Stoick, cutting right to the chase.

Twirling another knife between his fingers, Dagur answered, "My father's been... _retired_. He lost his taste for blood. I, on the other hand, am starving." He said that last part in a sing-song voice that sent chills down the spines of everyone present. Kickin' Hawk knew the meaning behind the selfish and power-hungry teenager's words, his hand self-consciously making its way to the right side of his body and tracing his scar.

Putting the knife away, Dagur decided to change the subject. "So, where are you hiding them Stoick?"

All he got for an answer was a question from the confused Berkian chief. "What is there to hide, Dagur?"

Oh, we both know what's going on," chuckled Dagur. "We heard on excellent authority that you are amassing an army of dragons, of all things. Didn't we, Deathblade?"

His partner (in crime) replied enthusiastically. " _Pawniard!_ "

Hiccup, not wanting to stay and hear the rest of the conversation, decided now was the best time to leave and warn his friends of what was going on. With Snivels on his heels, the Go-Getter took off running toward the village.

Before they completely left the docks, Hiccup could have sworn he heard a distressed cry coming from below the deck of Dagur's ship...

* * *

It wasn't long before Hiccup and Snivels reached the plaza, desperately searching for any sign of their friends. Just their luck, Hiccup ended up literally crashing into Astrid, who was just coming around a corner, and they both fell to the ground, with Hiccup on top of her.

Snivels skidded to a stop as the two Trainers of Destiny tried to clear their heads, noticing that Blaze was ducking into a nearby alleyway. By the time Hiccup had regained his thoughts, he realized that his face was just mere inches away from Astrid's. Blushing in embarrassment over the situation, Hiccup hastily picked himself off the ground, an action that Astrid copied.

Brushing herself off, the Haddock-to-be stated, "Hiccup, we have a problem."

"You're telling me," Hiccup blurted, impulsively running a hand through his hair. "Dagur's the new Berserker chief!"

"WHAT?!" Astrid nearly shrieked.

"Yeah, his father 'retired,'" Hiccup said, quoting Dagur. "And he thinks we're amassing an army of dragons!"

"That would bring us to our next problem," Blaze said, pointing to the ground beneath them. Hiccup looked down to see a trail of medium-sized Pokémon tracks heading out into the plaza.

Druddigon tracks.

It took him a minute to find his voice before he stuttered, "Spike? Here?"

The answer he got was a gurgling sound from the other side of the plaza. The four friends turned their heads to see none other than Spike eating out of a basket of fish near the food storage building. To make matters worse, the sounds of talking could be heard - the Berserkers were heading up the path, and if they made it to the plaza, they'd immediately catch sight of Spike!

Making haste, Hiccup, Astrid, Snivels and Blaze rushed out of their alley and each snatched a fish basket. They lured the hungry Druddigon away from the plaza and safely out of sight just as Stoick and the others led Dagur and his men to the food stores.

"And here we are, at the food storage," announced Gobber. "It's where we...well, you know..."

"Ooh, ooh, let me guess!" Dagur said with mock enthusiasm, then dropped the act. "It's where you store food. Boring! I want to see the dragon killing things!"

"Right this way," grumbled Stoick.

As the party left the food stores, none of them noticed a maturing Shiny Druddigon run across the plaza and to another part of the village.

After about two minutes of frantic searching, the four friends suddenly heard Heather call for them. Racing towards the sound of her voice they found the raven-haired girl, along with Ninjark, trying to drag Spike, who was eating out of a large basket of carrots and whatnot, away from the armory by his tail, with no such luck.

From the boasting coming from inside the armory, Hiccup quickly figured out that Dagur was inside. Realizing the danger his friend was in, Hiccup promptly joined in the tugging, grabbing one of Spike's "wings" and pulling as hard as he could. Astrid, Snivels, and Blaze soon joined in, their effort making the Shiny Druddigon move a few inches.

Spike, barely noticing his friends' attempts to pull him into hiding, calmly continued to eat.

Suddenly, the handle of the armory door started to rattle, and Hiccup could hear Dagur's voice muttering something on the other side. Quickly formulating a plan in his head, he uttered out, "You guys get him out of here, I'll distract them!" He didn't notice their looks of shock before he dashed out into the open.

The next thing Hiccup knew, he was looking at Dagur's disappointed mug.

"No signs of use, no bloodstains...pity," he said over his shoulder. Then he turned his head, saw Hiccup, and instantly broke into a warm smile (which was really intimidating). "Ah, Hiccup! It's been a while!"

Praying to Arceus that his plan would work, Hiccup forced out in mock joy, "Dagur! I was just thinking about you. Hey, remember the time we went swimming and you tried to drown me?"

"Oh, the fun times we had, huh?" Dagur laughed, brushing past him.

But then, he stopped, and turned back around. "Hang on. Where is it?"

Fearing the worst, Hiccup tried, "And...uh, what, what would that be?"

"Your leg," Dagur replied, pointing to the prosthetic Hiccup was wearing.

Hiccup was relieved, to say the least. "Oh, oh that. Well, uh...you know..."

"You don't have to explain," Dagur said conversationally. "I heard all about it. You, the Red Death, how you killed it all on your own?"

At that point, Snivels strolled out into the open, and, without thinking, stated, "Technically, he didn't do it all by himself." Then realization dawned on him, and he covered his mouth with both hands.

Genuinely amazed, Dagur exclaimed, "A talking Pokémon?! Where can I get me one of those! Oh, all the things we could talk about! Killing stuff, conquering islands, killing stuff, running the Berserkers, did I mention killing stuff?

Snivels frowned at the repetition of Dagur's favorite hobby.

Thankfully, Stoick walked out the door alongside Gobber and the Berserkers. "Alright, who's hungry?" he asked, breaking the tension. "It's time for the feast in the Great Hall you insisted on, Dagur."

"It's that way," Gobber added helpfully, pointing with his hook.

Brumous and Probe, Gobber's Probopass, followed, along with Deathblade, who briefly stopped to examine Hiccup's prosthetic and tap it with one of his blades.

The first place Hiccup ran to as soon as they were gone was the back of the armory, where Spike had been pulled away to. Only the Shiny Druddigon was not there. Before Hiccup could ask, Astrid wordlessly pointed in the direction of the Great Hall.

Hiccup spared a glance to see Spike making a break for the building, having heard there would be a feast there.

"We need to get him out of here!" Hiccup exclaimed before leading his friends in a chase, all of them desperate to recover the ever-growing Shiny Druddigon.

* * *

 **Snivels: Well, that got done quicker than I anticipated.**

 **Me: I get pretty motivated when I'm doing something I like. I'm also motivated to do whatever's necessary for a successful life.**

 **Blaze: Kinda like us, huh?**

 **Ninjark: You just read my mind.**

 ** **Kickin' Hawk: Leave some reviews if you want to see what happens next.****


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Folnir

 **Me: Shall we continue the story so we can all see how the episode ends?**

 **Snivels: Yes, yes we shall.**

* * *

By the time Team Go-Getters finally caught up with Spike, the Shiny Druddigon had already made it to the food storage, and was devouring whatever kind of food he could get his claws on. The Thorston twins and the Nidos were there, too, and they were pelting Spike with all sorts of food, from fish and bread to mutton and beef. Spike managed to catch some of the food that was being thrown at him, and shoved it into his mouth.

Stunned by the occurring events, and breathless from running, Hiccup took a minute to figure out what was going on before he turned his attention to Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Clyde, and Bonnie. "Guys, stop giving him food!" he shouted, urgently.

Ruffnut was the only one of the four to answer, with a loaf of bread in each hand. "We're not giving him food, we're _assaulting him with food!_ "

She then proceeded to throw the two loaves of bread at Spike, one of which he caught and devoured. As the twins reached for another basket of food, Spike darted over and snatched it out of their reach. "Hey!" Tuffnut shouted, "Give us back our ammo!"

Spike answered with a loud belch.

Hiccup grimaced. He hoped that the burp wasn't loud enough to catch the attention of Dagur and the Berserkers.

The now-familiar glow of Spike's final growth spurt surrounded the Druddigon. Then the sounds of creaking bones and squishing innards. In less than three seconds, a fully grown Spike was standing before all who were present. Growling in satisfaction, the Shiny Druddigon set the basket of food aside and patted his stomach, obviously full.

It was then that a loud shriek split the air, eerie and high-pitched.

Everyone was silent, the shriek still ringing in their ears. "That came from the docks," Snivels said, pointing. Dagur's ship was still docked from that morning, and there was little doubt the shriek had come from that general direction.

"I knew there was something suspicious about that ship," Blaze said, her glare intense.

"Looks like we'll have to go check it out," Hiccup said. "Everyone keep an eye out for the Berserkers, they could be nearby."

Spike approached his master, waiting for a command. Hiccup sighed as he turned to look at the now fully grown Shiny Druddigon. "I'm sorry, Spike, but we can't risk having anyone see you. Go back to the cove. I promise I'll come check on you later."

Spike whined in disappointment, but obeyed Hiccup's command, turning around and heading for the cove in the forest.

Moving quickly and silently, the members of Team Go-Getters made their way to Dagur's ship, careful as to not be seen. Snivels made it on deck first, and he made sure to sniff out the ship to make sure none of the Berserkers were on board. He then gestured for the rest of his friends to come on board. The Servine started sniffing out the ship before suddenly picking up the scent of living organisms below deck. He cautiously lowered the wooden plank that lead beneath the ship's deck, taking a quick sniff to check for traps before nodding.

Hiccup hesitated before leading his friends below the deck of Dagur's ship. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but when they did, he froze at the sight before him.

A group of Pokémon was caged along the wall of the ship, all of them miserable and frightened. A Rowlet, a Litten, a Popplio, a Rockruff, a Salandit, and a Jangmo-o.

On the opposite side, a Grookey, a Scorbunny, and a baby Sobble were being held in cages that were stacked up onto one another.

At the very end was a large red and black figure, which was rather bird-like, hunched over and in chains. As Hiccup approached the figure, it suddenly lashed out with one of its wings, grabbing him and holding him up to its face.

"Who dares to approach the mighty Folnir?!"

The Yveltal's voice caught the attention of everyone within hearing range, and the members of Team Go-Getters marveled at the sight of the unworldly being. Hiccup struggled against Folnir's grasp. "I heard your cries," he said, his voice strangled from the Yveltal's claws on his throat, "We came to help!"

Folnir snarled, "I was calling for the others. Tell me who you are and what you want!"

"Put him down!"

The slightly insane Yveltal shifted his gaze onto Astrid, her shout even startling him a bit. Unfazed by the wildness of his eyes, Astrid bravely stated, "None of the other Legendaries would have been so cruel."

Folnir's eyes suddenly became a bit calmer, his grip on Hiccup loosening. "How do you know of the Legendaries?" he asked.

Astrid hesitated, confused about the Yveltal's sudden change in behavior, before firmly replying, "We don't talk until you let him go."

Folnir hesitated before setting Hiccup down gently. He expected the blond girl to attack him, maybe unleash a Pokémon upon him, but instead she rushed forward and hugged Hiccup tightly. Folnir watched in amazement as the two young heroes displayed obvious affection for each other, it had been a long time since he'd witnessed such expressions. He'd once had an attraction towards another Pokémon, Obera the Xerneas, but his feelings were dismissed as they headed down separate paths. He became a powerful being meant to feed off of the life energy of plants and animals, while Obera moved on to living a peaceful life amongst the creatures that fascinated her.

Seeing, and feeling, the powerful bond between Hiccup and Astrid, and the similar bonds that some of the other members of Team Go-Getters shared, managed to help the Yveltal snap out of his insanity, eliminating his undying hunger for life energy. He lifted his wings to his face to hide the tears that filled his eyes, his heart being filled with feelings he hadn't felt in a long time. When he was sure his eyes were dry, he lowered his wings and gestured to his chains and the caged Pokémon. "We need to get out of here before that demon teenaged chief sends his guards to investigate," he said.

"That's a good idea," Snivels replied as he headed for the cages.

Within seconds, all of the members of Team Go-Getters were working to free the caged Pokémon, many of them trying to help Folnir remove his chains. Heather and Astrid focused on the Grookey and Scorbunny, while Hiccup tried to persuade the Sobble out of his cage. But the baby Pokémon was very timid, and he was literally shaking with fear. He whimpered as Hiccup reach out for him, squeezing his eyes shut, as if waiting for a hard blow to come.

Hiccup, realizing that the direct approach wasn't working, decided to try something else. Reaching into his vest, he pulled out the precious few snacks Spike had failed to find and consume. Two small crackers. He slowly reached his hand out to the little Sobble, who opened his eyes and watched in wonder as the teen's hand slowly reached out to offer him the food. Padding forward, he sniffed the crackers cautiously before gobbling them right up.

Hiccup smiled warmly at the small Water-Type. The Sobble then ducked under his hand and rushed out and dove face first into his vest. It had been a while since the little Pokémon had experienced warmth, and it was very soothing.

Snivels, having managed to round up the other Pokémon after they had been released from their cages, had witnessed the Sobble's actions, and he was satisfied to see the baby Pokémon happy. He had known from the looks of things that the Sobble had gone through rough times whilst being caged and hidden in the dark. If Team Go-Getters could help him overcome his fear and teach him who to trust, it was possible that they could boost his confidence.

Suddenly, the members of Team Go-Getters heard voices from above them. Folnir was the first to realize that Dagur had indeed sent some guards to investigate the meaning of the shriek he had made earlier. "No time to hide," the Yveltal muttered before shouting, "Everyone get behind me!"

Astrid shot the Yveltal a suspicious glare. "And how are we supposed to know this isn't a trick?" she asked.

"Just trust me," Folnir pleaded. "I know what I'm doing!" Hiccup could somehow tell from the way Folnir looked at them, and the urgency in his voice, that he was telling the truth. Tucking the Sobble into his vest, Hiccup ran behind the Yveltal, and was soon followed by the rest of Team Go-Getters.

And just in time, too, as the Berserker guards made their way below deck to check and see what all the commotion was about. Their eyes landed on Folnir, and they realized that he was unchained, and they could tell from his glare that he wasn't happy with them. Before the guards could react, Folnir shot a violet-colored beam of energy at them.

Oblivion Wing.

The guards turned to run, but they were too late. The beam of energy engulfed them, and their cries went silent. When the energy beam dissipated, all that remained were two stone statues of the guards. Oblivion Wing had turned them to stone. Kickin' Hawk stepped out from behind the Yveltal. "Was that really necessary?" the Hawlucha asked, skeptically.

Folnir shrugged. "It's better than letting them get away," he said.

A small whimper from the Sobble reminded them that there was still a group of traumatized Pokémon that they needed to get off the ship before anyone else came to investigate. The Go-Getters made sure to stay behind Folnir as they headed off the ship and towards the forest, where their home was.

"I haven't had to use that move in a while," Folnir muttered as he trudged on slowly. He wasn't used to walking long distances, but he knew that he'd catch the attention of the Berserkers if he flew.

Hiccup scarcely heard what the Yveltal had said, but from his own personal experience as a trainer he decided it was best to talk it out. While petting the Sobble that was still tucked into his vest, Hiccup quickened his pace so that he was walking beside the regretful Yveltal. "When did you last use that move?" he asked.

Folnir sighed. "During the Great Dragon War," he replied, shamefully. "I was so angry at what was becoming of our world that I couldn't help but unleash it in a powerful attack. I claimed the life energy of many from the village of Berk. I was lucky to have not have hit you, or Astrid, with my Oblivion Wing."

"Does that always happen?" Hiccup asked suddenly. "Do your victims always turn to stone?"

Folnir shook his head. "Not always," he said. "It depends on the amount of power I put into the attack. When I'm fighting against another Pokémon, I usually limit the amount of power so that it only absorbs their health points, whilst resorting mine. But sometimes when I lose control of my instincts, I use the move at full blast. I've tried to calm myself through multiple exercises, but nothing seems to work."

"Have you tried breathing exercises?"

Both human and Pokémon turned to see Snivels walking behind them. "Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing," the Servine said. "But whenever I start to lose my temper, I do breathing exercises. Maybe Folnir could try that?"

Folnir thought for a minute before replying, "If you're willing to teach me, I suppose I could try it."

Hiccup was suddenly jerked back by the back of his shirt and found himself face-to-face with a rather annoyed Astrid. Hiccup sighed. "I know what you're gonna say," he grumbled. "That Pokémon turned those guards to stone and went insane on me so I should be careful and not trust him so soon, or it'll be Heather all over again."

Astrid's expression immediately softened, and she spoke in a surprisingly calm voice, "I'm just concerned about him. If he'd been insane enough to shoot that beam at you, then Fjord knows what we would have done. There are people and Pokémon here that care for your well being, Hiccup, and that includes me."

The baby Sobble poked his head out of Hiccup's vest, curious as to what was going on. Astrid glanced down at the small Pokémon and patted him on the head. The Sobble looked up at Astrid and smiled at her.

Heather had noticed the couple, and directed Ninjark to keep going with the rest of Team Go-Getters while she stayed behind just in case.

The Sobble wriggled his way out of Hiccup's vest so that he had a better view of her surroundings. The rest of Team Go-Getters had taken notice of their trainers and had headed back to see what was holding them up. The Sobble watched as the numerous figures of people and Pokémon surrounded him. For some reason, he didn't feel any of his usual fear or timidness. Not while he was in the arms of the trainer that had shown him that not all humans were bad.

There was a sudden roar, and the attention of the members of Team Go-Getters was drawn to the edge of the forest near the food storage. A single thought crossed through their minds as they made their way to the source of the noise. Their worst fears were confirmed when they saw Spike chained and muzzled by the Berserkers, who were being assisted by a pack of well-trained Mightyena. The Sobble leapt back into the safety of Hiccup's vest as soon as she saw the Berserkers. "We have to stop them!" Snivels half-shouted half-whispered.

"We can't," Hiccup said. "If we try to save Spike now, the treaty's off. We can't let Dagur know that we train dragons."

"Speaking of Dagur..." Heather said, pointing.

The Berserker chief was standing not far from the thrashing Shiny Druddigon that his men had chained, with Deathblade beside him loyally. "Should we cage it, sir?" one of the guards asked.

Dagur shook his head. "As much as how high of a price I know we could get for it," he said as he unsheathed his sword. "I think this one will make a fine addition to my trophy collection."

Luckily for Team Go-Getters, Stoick happened to be passing by at that very moment. He didn't recognize Spike due to his size, but he knew that Dagur had just captured a Druddigon. Moving quickly, the Berkian chief unsheathed his own sword and held it out in front of a petrified Spike. He was just in time, as Dagur's sword clashed with his own.

The Berserker chief glared at Stoick. "How dare you?!" Dagur demanded, outraged at Stoick's interference.

"How dare _you_?!" Stoick replied, evenly, "We're supposed to slay a dragon, and that's what we'll do - in the arena, where dragon-killing is done. Store it in one of the cages, we'll see to it in the morning."

Hiccup watched helplessly as Dagur and his men dragged Spike to the arena. The Shiny Druddigon struggled to break the chains when he saw his friends, but with little success. Snivels was even more upset. He'd been raising Spike since he'd hatched, he was basically a son to him. The Servine felt a wave of anger flash through him as the demon teen dragged his beloved Spike to the arena, but he swallowed it down with a deep breath.

As soon as the Berserkers and their Dark-Types were out of sight, Hiccup started to head for the cove, where the rest of the dragons and Dragon-Type Pokémon were being hidden. Snivels started after him. "You have a plan, right?" he asked. "Because I'm pretty sure that we can't afford having that...I can't even say it in front of myself...Dagur finding any more dragons. It's enough trouble having Spike scheduled to be killed tomorrow morning, but is it really worth putting these guys in trouble, too?" He gestured to the Pokémon they'd rescued, who were trying to keep pace with the Servine and his trainer.

Hiccup barely paid attention as he shifted his gaze back and forth between the Sobble in his vest and the forest ahead of him. "We need to do something to stop Dagur," he muttered to himself. His path was suddenly blocked by Folnir and Kickin' Hawk.

"You can't stop him," the Hawlucha said. "I already tried once. It didn't work out."

"What do you mean it didn't work out?" Hiccup asked, confused.

Kickin' Hawk sighed. "I knew I'd have to tell you eventually," he said, taking a breath before continuing. As he told his story, the rest of Team Go-Getters caught up with their friend, and listened to Kickin' Hawk's tale.

"I don't recall when, but I believe it was sometime after the Great Dragon War had ended. Hiccup had proven himself, Berk was peaceful; but there were still battles being fought. We all wanted to do something about it. So Fjord sent me out to investigate. I'd just finished the initiation test for the Resistance and became a full-fledge member alongside my father. More than anything, I wanted to make him proud."

Hiccup nodded. He understood that feeling.

"Champion and I were both assigned to observe activity on Berserker Island. Oswald the Agreeable's son, Dagur, was a power-hungry and selfish person who wanted to restore the Berserkers to their 'natural glory.' The fighter in me told me that I had to put a stop to it. He seemed to be easy to defeat, but I was wrong to have misjudged him. Dagur used Deathblade to keep me busy. Just as I had been pinned by the Pawniard, I saw Dagur ready to strike me, but my father jumped in and took the blow. I threw Deathblade off of myself ran to him. That earned me an injury to my side from a second strike. I didn't want to leave Champion, not after the mistake I had made. I did nothing but watch as Dagur murdered his own father with his favorite axe. He and Deathblade left us both to die. I didn't want to admit to myself that my father had been mortally wounded, but I knew I had to face the truth. His last words were, 'Son, don't die in vain. If you're going to die, do it for something like I have.' My father died for me. I haven't been able to forget it since."

Of all who were listening, Snivels was the only one who spoke. "Whoa."

Kickin' Hawk nodded. "If there's one thing I know about Dagur," he said. "It's that he _never_ plays fair. We need to outsmart him if we want to save Spike."

* * *

A plan was quickly arranged. The dragons and Dragon-Types would keep the Berserker guards busy while the rest of Team Go-Getters would confront Dagur in the arena along with the Pokémon from the ship.

"Would this be a bad time to say that this is probably the most simple plan I've ever heard of?" Snivels asked as he lay in wait with the Speed Stingers.

"Not unless you've got a better idea," Astrid muttered in reply.

There was a shout from far ahead of them, and Snivels stood up. "That's you cue," he said, pointing. The Speed Stingers zipped off to join in the fake dragon attack.

"That should keep them busy for a while," Hiccup said to himself before talking loud enough for his friends to hear. "Now let's go save Spike."

The Sobble was still tucked into Hiccup's vest, with only his head sticking out. He caught a glimpse of the dragons all teaming up to distract the Mightyena and Berserker guards. Even Terrorspin and Chomper were taking part in it, digging underground and popping back up when least expected. He was so interested in the occurring events, the little Sobble forgot all about his fear. He made no move to hide as Team Go-Getters reached the arena.

Dagur, Stoick, Gobber, and their Pokémon partners were already there; and Spike was chained up in the middle of the arena. He started to struggle when he saw his friends, but Hiccup motioned for him to stay still.

"According to the treaty," Gobber announced, reading the paper, "The killing of the dragon must be..."

He was cut off by an incredibly impatient Dagur. "Bored! I want his head!" He started to advance on the immobilized Spike, Deathblade walking beside him.

"I'm ending this," Stoick muttered to Gobber, "If it means war, it means war." He then headed for Dagur, ready to stop the demonic teen however he could. He didn't get the chance, however, as a bruised and beat-up Berserker guard suddenly ran into the arena and caught their attention.

"Sir!" the guard wheezed, horrified but what was occurring out in the village. "They've escaped! We lost our secret weapon!"

"Ignore this homeless thug and let's get on with it!" Dagur demanded, hoping to cover the guard's slip.

But Stoick was already blocking his path. "Dagur, what is going on?!" the Berkian chief declared.

Seeing this as their cue, the members of Team Go-Getters all headed into the arena, with Hiccup and Snivels leading the way. "Well, Dagur," Snivels said tauntingly. "Looks like your little restore-the-Berserkers-to-their-former-glory plan isn't gonna work out, after all."

Dagur scowled at the Servine. "Talking Pokémon should be seen, not heard!"

"I'd like to hear what he has to say," Stoick argued, glaring at Dagur.

Snivels sighed. "Alright," he said, "But pay attention, 'cause I'm getting tired of telling the same story. Dagur is a power-hungry and selfish jerk with a thirst for the blood of his enemies, and he wanted to restore the Berserkers to their original glory, so he murdered his own father and took over as chief of the Berserkers so he could start a war and send the Barbaric Archipelago into bloodshed!" He then added in a much calmer voice, "And, I might add, he was holding some rare and powerful Pokémon against their will."

Dagur could've killed Snivels with his gaze if he could, he was so angry.

"Don't let the humiliation hit you on the way out," Heather said, which was somewhat out of character for her.

Berkian Vikings began to file into the arena, some of them escorting handcuffed Berserker guards and Mightyena in chains. Dagur, momentarily stunned by this, hesitated before stating, "You can't do this to me! I'm Dagur the Deranged! I'm supposed to be the strongest and best-est of all the chiefs!" He paused and turned back to Snivels, who was smirking at him. "And you," Dagur growled, "Are not going to stop me from getting what I want, you little good-for-nothing _beast_!"

With that, Dagur lashed out a hand and slapped Snivels right in the face, causing the Servine to reel back and fall to the ground.

Hiccup instantly ran forward to his friend's side. "Snivels!"

Dagur glared at the Haddock boy before raising his sword and preparing to strike...

Only to be stopped by Folnir, who grasped the demonic teen's arm in his talons. The Yveltal scowled at Dagur before stating, "Don't ever come near me, or my family, again." He released the young chief's hand in time to watch Dagur being handcuffed and escorted out of the arena, and prepared to be shipped off to the prisons. Dagur glanced back as he, Deathblade, his men, and the Mightyena were dragged off.

"You haven't seen the last of me! I'll get you, Hiccup, and your little Servine, too!"

The members of Team Go-Getters hardly glanced at him as they freed Spike of his restraints. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief as the Shiny Druddigon stood up, free from his chains, and ever so grateful that his friends had come through. Hiccup smiled and patted Spike's muzzle.

"Let's go home."

* * *

Things were never the same after that fateful day.

Folnir had decided to stay with Team Go-Getters in order to perfect his newly adopted breathing exercises. Spike was now even more powerful now that he'd grown to full size, and he made sure to show it, too. Mawnan the Rowlet, Cross the Litten, Dazzle the Salandit, Sirena the Popplio, Hokkaido the Rockruff, Komodo the Jangmo-o, Gameroid the Grookey and Flare the Scorbunny had all settled in quite well.

It didn't take long for Snivels to find out that Mawnan was near-sighted. He'd suffered a head injury when he was little, resulted in temporary blindness. He recovered well, but now he was unable see properly. Snivels lent him a pair of the glasses he'd invented, until he had time to finish another thing he'd been working on, called contact lenses.

The Sobble, however, had decided to take things slow. He'd really only warmed up to Hiccup and Snivels, the latter of whom was feeding him some more crackers.

"Have you named him yet?"

Hiccup snapped out of his stupor when he heard Astrid's voice. He turned to see her standing in the front doorway. He shrugged. "We haven't really thought about it yet," he said. "Are you sure you don't mind having more Pokémon on the team?"

Astrid went to sit next to her fiancé. "Not as much as I would have a couple of months ago," she said.

The Sobble stared up at them, backing away slowly when Astrid got closer. Snivels offered him another cracker, and he gobbled it right down.

The Servine's eyes lit up. "Well, since he likes crackers, why don't we call him Crackers?"

Crackers looked up at the sound of his new name, and he immediately took a liking to it.

Astrid agreed. "It actually suits him."

Hiccup smiled at her. Never a day went by when he couldn't help falling in love with her over and over again. Everything about her was perfect in his eyes, even if anyone else seemed to doubt it. Who knows what came over him in that moment, but he pulled her in close and nuzzled a kiss into her hair.

"I love you, Astrid Hofferson."

Astrid punched him lightly. "It's Hofferson-Haddock to you, mister."

Hiccup chuckled lightly. He didn't need her to say the three words to know she loved him back.

* * *

 _Every living creature in this world has its secrets. And when they make themselves known, you can be sure your friends will be there to help you through it._

 _I know I can always trust my friends to be there when I need them most._

* * *

 **Me: Okay, it's late, I'm tired, but despite that, IT'S DONE!**

 **Snivels: You have my most sincere congratulations!**

 **Blaze: Yeah, but it looks like we could all use a rest.**

 **Ninjark: Especially since we can be sure the next adventure might have some suspense.**

 **Me** **: Review, please!**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Defiant One

 **Snivels: I don't like the looks of this.**

 **Me: Well, only things we can do is get on with the story.**

* * *

 _The life of a hero can be difficult, harsh, even stormy. Nobody can make it through alone. You'll always have to rely on someone._

 _Unfortunately, we don't always get the chance to pick that someone._

* * *

It had been nearly a week after the Berserker incident, and the members of Team Go-Getters had adjusted quite well with the additions of the Pokémon they'd found and rescued from Dagur's ship.

Folnir had been fully accepted, by himself and by Hiccup, as a member of the team; and was more than eager to take commands from the young hero who had defeated the Red Death.

Crackers, meanwhile, had taken up living with Hiccup and his Pokémon. He'd grown fond of Hiccup, as well as Snivels, an it wasn't just because they gave him so many crackers to eat.

Aside from that, Phoxie, Captain, Raika, Amp, and Vigor had all evolved.

As a Braixen, Phoxie had begun to learn how to harness her genetically-inherited animus powers, though the only spell she could perform correctly so far was a simple levitation.

Captain the Quilladin had lost most of his childish personality and developed a more serious attitude.

Raika the Manectric was more maneuverable in her more canine-like body; whilst Amp the Flaaffy still retained his more eager personality, though with a touch of battle-ready determination.

Vigor the Shelgon, though significantly slower than he was as a Bagon, had become much more sturdy and powerful.

Unfortunately, there were still many things that hadn't changed.

* * *

"This is so lame! Why are we even out here?!"

If there was anything Hiccup didn't want to handle, it was a complaining, loudmouth Snotlout.

He had to take the liberty of instilling the Viking teens for assistance in Team Go-Getters' first dragon search-and-rescue mission, despite how much he and the other Go-Getters didn't like it. And Snivels really didn't like it. "Did you really have to go through all the trouble to getting up this morning and asking them to help?" the Servine asked, his voice heavy with frustration. He was riding behind Hiccup on Toothless, since the bad weather left him no choice but to hang up his artificial wings.

Hiccup shook his head. "I don't like this any more than you do, Snivs."

Snivels sighed and slumped back onto Toothless's back. "In the sky, no one can hear you scream," he muttered.

Heather, who was flying nearby on Windshear, gave her former partner a concerned look. "You're acting like you're about to be given a death sentence," she said.

"At least it's better than being stuck with the bigmouth quartet," Snivels said in reply.

"We don't have time for this, guys," Hiccup said before looking up, "Folnir, what's the view from upstairs?"

The Yveltal was flying above them, scouting the area ahead. "Not much to report," Folnir replied, "Mostly just water and open sky."

"Stoick said the fishing boat was last seen heading south," Blaze said, "Are you sure you can't see anything?"

Folnir looked down at the Blaziken and shook his head.

"You guys don't even know what you're talking about!" Snotlout complained loudly, "There's nothing down there but water! I say we go north!"

"That's back in the direction of Berk," Astrid said.

"Exactly!" Snotlout replied, "We're missing out on some good meals back at the Great Hall!"

Astrid sighed in annoyance before asking, "And if Hiccup said we had to go north?" There was very little doubt that Snotlout would still complain even if Hiccup had ordered a search in the opposite direction of where they were going.

"Are you trying to mess with my mind?" Snotlout asked, "It's not gonna work! Nothing gets in here! Nothing!"

"That's the most reasonable thing you said all day!" Xylia called from the back of Femur. The female Boneknapper spared a glance with her twin sister, Patella.

Snotlout looked like he'd had enough. "That's it! I'm done listening to you guys! North is where I want to go, so north is where I'm going!" Heat, who was sitting behind him on Hookfang, nodded. Hookfang snarled before doing a U-turn, flying away from the group.

"I guess this means we have to go after him," Snivels grumbled.

Hiccup sighed, "Well, one of us has to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Astrid steered Stormfly next to Toothless. "Lead the others back," Hiccup told her, "We'll go get him."

Snivels sighed, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the air." Toothless gave him an empathetic warble before turning around in the direction Snotlout had steered Hookfang.

Snivels let out another sigh, "I have a bad feeling about this."

* * *

Retrieving Snotlout would have been easy if it hadn't been for an enormous waterspout blocking the path back to Berk. What surprised Hiccup was the Snotlout seemed unfazed at the size of the vortex. "That waterspout is way too dangerous!" he shouted.

Snotlout showed very little to no surprise that he was being followed. "That's why I'm flying around it!" he shouted back, "Duh!"

Crackers, who was hiding in one of Toothless's saddlebags, shook his head. "The suction of that vortex is too strong," he said, "He'll never make it around."

Snivels looked down at the Sobble. "You say that like it's a bad thing," he said.

As Crackers had pointed out, Hookfang was having a visibly difficult time resisting the waterspout's pull. It soon came to the point where the wind, which was moving in the opposite direction, tugged on the Monstrous Nightmare's tail and wings hard enough so that he could no longer fly forward. As anticipated by Snivels, the winds sucked Hookfang back toward the waterspout. The Monstrous Nightmare roared in terror as he was flung backwards, Snotlout screaming at the top of his lungs as he and Heat hung on for dear life.

To say that Hiccup didn't hesitate to steer Toothless down towards the screaming Viking (whose screams were strangely high-pitched) would be lying. He was aware of the danger of the storm, and what could happen to them if they tried to help. But it wasn't like Team Go-Getters to leave someone in need without any of their acknowledgment. Knowing what their trainer was thinking, Snivels and Crackers tightened their grip on whatever they could hold on to in order to prevent being blown off the saddle.

Diving headfirst into the waterspout, Toothless attempted to grab the spiraling Viking, Magmar, and Monstrous Nightmare, only to nearly be blown back as Snotlout lost his grip on Hookfang, causing him and Heat to be blown out of the whirlpool, leaving Snotlout behind in the vortex. Toothless somehow managed to regain his flight pattern and grab Snotlout in his claws, but the winds were too strong for him to fly out of the waterspout.

The last thing any of them heard before blacking out was the sound of the winds blowing them away.

* * *

After arriving back on Berk, the remaining members of Team Go-Getters and the Viking teens were surprised and annoyed to hear that the fishing boat they'd set out to look for had already returned. Team Go-Getters wasted not time returning to their home in Raven Point, waiting patiently for Hiccup, Toothless, Snivels, and Crackers to return.

Astrid sat in the middle of the clearing where she and Hiccup always went to avoid any unwanted eyes, desperately hoping that her fiancé was alright. Stormfly and Blaze had come with her to keep their friend company while she waited. "He'll be fine," Blaze said, comfortingly, "You know how hard it is to get him off Toothless."

Unless something threw him off.

* * *

It wasn't a surprise that Hiccup woke up painfully.

But it was a surprise that he woke up at all.

The first thing he noticed as he got up was the landscape. It was dark and grim, with very little color. The terrain was rocky and mountainous, and the trees were tall, grey, and almost skeletal. Clearly it was not a very exotic place.

"OW!"

Startled by the sudden yell, Hiccup frantically looked around to see where it came from. A nearby dragon warbled in empathy, which Hiccup recognized as Toothless. Running through the grove of lifeless trees, Hiccup found a worried-looking Toothless trying to push a rather large rock off of Snivels's left foot. Crackers was sitting nearby, his face etched with worry.

Snivels cried out in pain as the rock moved off his injured foot, seizing the opportunity to pull it out from underneath the boulder. "Yep, it's broken," the Servine muttered.

Toothless warbled in empathy, lifting his tail and revealing not only that the cloth was badly torn, but the connecting rod was also bent out of shape. Hiccup sighed, "Okay, clearly that wasn't our best landing. Now what are we supposed to do?"

"You can start by getting me out of this stupid tree!"

Everyone simultaneously looked up to see Snotlout hanging by his shirt, which was snagged on one of the tree's twisted branches. "That's not a very nice thing to say," Crackers said above a whisper.

"Since when can he talk?" Snotlout asked in annoyance.

"I'd tell you," Snivels said, "But you wouldn't listen anyway."

Deciding without his friends' input what to do with the Jorgenson boy, Toothless shot a plasma blast at the branch, causing it to snap in half. Snotlout plummeted to the ground. "That looked like it hurt," Snivels said with satisfaction. Snotlout dazedly picked himself up.

"Go...suck...rocks."

Snivels rolled his eyes. "And he's back. Lucky for us."

"Has anyone else noticed that Hookfang and Heat are missing?" Crackers asked.

Snivels pondered the question before taking a few quick sniffs. "Well, they're not anywhere near wherever we might be," he said, trying to stand up, but with difficulty due to his injured leg, "Any idea where we can find a pair of crutches or something?"

His only answer was a loud roar that made everyone's spine tingle.

* * *

Astrid paced the floor of the academy impatiently. "Well, they've been gone for almost a day," she huffed. "Hic - they should have gotten back by now."

Knowing full well what her trainer had been about to say, Blaze suggested with a smug-ish grin, "It's possible they settled somewhere to wait out the storm."

Sensing her rider's concern, Stormfly lowered her head and nuzzled her. Distractedly, Astrid scratched the Deadly Nadder's neck, right where the little sweet spot was, and frowned.

All of a sudden, and big red and black thing with a four-foot tall creature on its back flew in through the gates and landed on the floor with a thud. Hookfang and Heat had returned, and though the rest of Team Go-Getters didn't show much concern for Snotlout not being with them, it still wasn't a good sign.

That was the last straw for Astrid. "That's it! Hiccup's still out there somewhere, and I'm going to go out and find him, with or without you guys!"

No one in the arena was nearly brave enough to argue with an angry and determined Astrid. "We're in," Kickin' Hawk said simply.

Astrid nodded at him in satisfaction. "Everyone grab your dragons. We're heading out to find them."

* * *

Hiccup was able to find a simple, yet sturdy replacement for the torn tail fin cloth, but one of the main connecting rods was still bent out of shape. Hiccup stared at the bent piece of metal.

"This might be a little tougher."

Snivels, who was having Crackers help him bandage his injured foot, watched as his trainer wedged the bent rod underneath a large boulder. Hiccup then pushed down on the rod with both hands, using whatever strength he had to try and bend it back into shape. That didn't work, as the rod slipped out of his grasp and whacked him in the face.

Wincing at his trainer's misfortune, Snivels looked away, only to find Snotlout rummaging through the saddlebag. "There is nothing to eat in here," the Jorgenson stated angrily, "What kind of search-and-rescue mission is this?!"

"How about you stop complaining and try and help us for once?!" Snivels asked just as angrily.

Their argument was interrupted by Hiccup once again failing to bend the connecting back into shape. Snotlout marched over and pushed Hiccup aside, grabbing the connecting rod. "Give me that. You're doing it all wrong. You've got to put some muscle into it. Oops, I forgot, you can't." Snivels rolled his eyes as Snotlout snickered at his own joke before he started to bend the connecting rod.

The wrong way.

"Snotlout, be careful," Hiccup said warningly, "If you do that, there's a chance it'll..."

 _Snap!_

Crackers jumped at the sudden sound, his heart sinking as Snotlout handed Hiccup the now broken rod. "You wanted two of them, right?" the Jorgenson asked with a smirk.

Hiccup uncharacteristically snapped, "No."

Snivels sighed. "Great job, Snotface, that was LITERALLY our only chance at going home!"

Snotlout scoffed. "It's not my fault your dragon has half a tail!" he said, "Just get another rod!"

Snivels looked so angry, he looked like he was about to explode. "May I remind you that we have no idea WHERE WE ARE?!"

It took a loud roar from Toothless to finally calm them down.

And just in time, too.

"I hear voices," Crackers said, cowering in fear.

Sure enough, there were voices headed their way.

Ducking behind a large rock formation, the small group remained quiet as a group of people, along with a couple of Houndoom, approached. Snivels sniffed the air a few times before whispering, "It's Savage. As in, Alvin's right-hand man."

Crackers cowered at those words. "Then, doesn't that mean..."

"It does," Hiccup replied quickly and quietly. "Guys, we're on Outcast Island."

It didn't take them long to leave after the patrolling Outcasts and Pokémon were out of sight. All the same, Toothless made sure to keep his senses sharp in case any other soldiers came their way.

Snivels grabbed a few nearby branches and twigs to make a couple of makeshift crutches before looking up at the darkening sky, sighing. "Maybe we should take a break," he said, "Maybe rest up for the night and then head off in the morning. What do you guys think?"

Even Snotlout wasn't stupid enough not to notice that Snivels was beginning to trudge slower and slower, obviously tired. "Good idea," Snotlout said, "And where are we supposed to sleep?!"

No sooner had he said that, Snivels's head suddenly collided with what appeared to be a large boulder. Exhausted, Snivels slumped down, his chin sliding down the surface of the rock, his limbs falling limp, and his eyes sliding shut.

"This looks good to me."

A second later, he was fast asleep.

Crackers went to join his friend, looking almost as tired as Snivels had been a few seconds ago. "Don't worry," he muttered as he settled in next to the slumbering Servine. "I'm sure we'll find a way to get home in the morning." Really, he'd been saying that more to himself than anyone else. His species was naturally timid, after all.

Toothless promptly went to join the two youngsters, nudging Hiccup with his tail to make sure he took the hint. Hiccup sighed, then shrugged, and went to join them.

Snotlout moaned in frustration, "I should have made clear I wanted to be back at my house before morning."

But, nevertheless, he went and slumped down against the boulder.

* * *

The sun was barely up when Hiccup suddenly awoke. To his relief, he wasn't in a prison cell, and there wasn't a single Outcast in sight. But there was an overly impatient Snotlout standing over him. The Jorgenson sighed heavily. "About time you woke up!" he exclaimed, "Do you know how long I've been waiting?!"

Hiccup sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure I want to," he muttered.

Snotlout ignored him and shook both Snivels and Crackers awake. "Get up and let's get going!" he said loudly, much to the dismay of the two Pokémon.

Snivels groaned as he grabbed his crutches and stretching. "I'm so tired," the Servine said as he tried to straighten his crutches, "We've already gone so far."

"That's because we're trying to get our butts back home!" Snotlout replied, rudely.

Crackers yawned and padded over to a rather annoyed Hiccup. "But we don't even know if we're going in the right direction," he said, timidly.

Hiccup stood up and looked around, stopping when his eyes fell on the boulder they'd slept next to. "Once we get around this boulder, we'll head to high ground and scout the island from up there," he said, "If we can find a forge, I can make a new connecting rod..."

"And then we can all go home!" Snotlout finished, "Okay, let's go!"

But he was stopped by a dragon's snoring.

Toothless was still asleep.

Grumbling, Snotlout muttered under his breath, "And would somebody wake up that lazy dragon?!"

Hunched over like an old man, Snivels limped over to the sleeping Night Fury and shook him gently. "Toothless?" When the dragon didn't respond, Snivels shook him harder. "Toothless!" This time, Toothless did respond. Growling softly, he opened his eyes a crack and raised his head.

Satisfied, Snotlout nodded. "Good, we're all awake, let's go!" He turned to leave, only to freeze when he heard more snoring. His look of surprise turned to one of anger, and he grumbled as he turned back toward the sound, "Come on, you stupid dragon, get up right...!"

But Toothless was already awake. The black dragon stood there, staring at Snotlout with wide eyes. Snotlout's expression instantly changed to confusion.

Snivels slowly turned his head towards the boulder, pointing. He gulped, before saying slowly, "That's...not...Toothless."

Crackers stared in fascination. "I didn't know that boulders could snore," he said. Indeed, the snoring was, in fact, coming from the boulder they'd slept by the whole night.

Hiccup, knowing for an important fact that rocks didn't make any noise, examined the boulder before he suddenly realized why it was snoring. "They can't," he said in response to the Sobble's comment.

"But Monstrous Nightmares can!"

The object they'd thought was a boulder was actually a Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare. Its dark purple color had made it hard to distinguish what it was in the dark, but the daylight showed its vibrant red spots and stripes.

The sound of Hiccup's voice woke the large dragon, and it promptly stopped snoring and rose to its feet, blinking its tired eyes a few times and sniffing the air. Its strong nose caught the group's scent almost instantly, and it turned its head and growled at the intruders. "What now?" Snivels asked in a whisper.

Hiccup gulped. "Running," he said, "Would be a good idea."

With that, the small group took off heading in the opposite direction, with Snivels hitching a ride on Toothless's back. The Titan Wing roared and chased after them, its stomach growling for breakfast. After a short while of running aimlessly, the small group turned a corner, Hiccup directed the others into a nearby cave. They all ducked inside and held their breath (most of that was Snotlout) as the large dragon ran past the entrance, pausing only to look around and roar in frustration.

As the wingbeats faded into the distance, Crackers asked quietly, "Is he gone?"

Hiccup shook his head, whispering back, "I don't know."

Snotlout glared at them. "That is the last time I trust the snake to pick out a boulder to sleep by!"

"Hey!" Snivels snapped, "It was dark, okay?!"

Toothless just grumbled.

After realizing that it was safe to come out, the small group made their way out of the cave, Snivels still on Toothless's back. Hiccup heard the sound of chewing, and turned to see Snotlout eating a handful of red berries. "Snotlout," Hiccup said cautiously, "I'm not so sure you should be eating those berries."

Snotlout, of course, ignored him, shoving more berries into his mouth. "Relax, I've been having these since last night," the arrogant boy argued, "Besides, we're on Outcast Island. We're going into battle. We need to build up our strength, which is a concept you know _nothing_ about."

"You wish," Snivels muttered.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and sighed. Toothless, Snivels, and Crackers went to join their friend's side. "Battle the Outcasts?" Hiccup repeated, "Just the four of us? Without any weapons? And you think we can battle the Outcasts?"

"Abtholutely."

Hiccup stopped. "Wait, what?"

"I thaid 'abtholutely.' Ath in 'uff coath.'"

Hiccup, Snivels, and Crackers all wore matching looks of surprise as they looked back at Snotlout, whose tongue was swollen to over three times its normal size.

Toothless let out a bark of laughter as Hiccup sighed. "Oh, for the love of...I told you not to eat those berries!"

Snotlout, for some reason, was completely unaware of what they were talking about. "Why, whath wong?"

Wordlessly, Hiccup pointed to a nearby puddle of stagnant water, where his cousin could clearly peer in and see his reflection. Which he did.

He clapped his hands to his face in horror. "Oh no, I'm hideouth!"

"If by that, you mean more ugly than usual," Snivels said irritably.

Hiccup sighed. "Give me my satchel. I may have something that can help."

Snivels reached over Toothless to grab the satchel, only to realize it wasn't there. "It's not here," the Servine said.

"Well, who had it last?" Hiccup asked, panic rising in his voice. Freezing for a second, human, Pokémon and dragon all simultaneously turned their heads to Snotlout, who was scratching his neck.

"Thatchel?"

There was a good ten seconds of silence before Snivels slumped down over Toothless's back. "Great! We're stuck here on Outcast Island, we don't know where on the island we can find a forge, I can't run, or even walk, because of my broken leg, our 'thatchel,' which has the Berk crest on it, is missing, and if someone finds that bag, we're dead!" The Servine's last word frightened Crackers.

Now it was Snotlout's turn to roll his eyes. "Welakth, weah thafe! Twutht me, no one'th gonna fine it."

"Says the guy who's gonna be the death of us one of these days," Snivels grumbled.

* * *

The lost saddlebag lay on the rocky land, as if it were waiting for someone to find it. And find it, they did. Even from an entirely different angle, they'd recognize the Berk crest when they saw it.

As their shadow engulfed the bag, a leafy green tail reached out and grabbed it by the strap.

* * *

 **Snivels: Oh my Fjord, SARABETH?! SERIOUSLY?! UGH, HOW CAN IT GET ANY WORSE?!**

 **Crackers: I've been asking myself that question for a long time.**

 **Blaze: Hey, you guys being on Outcast Island doesn't mean we can't close the chapter together!**

 **Ninjark: She's right! We're still a team!**

 **Amber: We fight for one another, side by side!**

 **Snivels: Guys, stop, you're gonna make me cry!**

 **Me: Review please!**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Opposites Interact

 **Snivels: Oh, thank Fjord there's another chapter! I was getting worried we'd be on hold forever!**

 **Blaze: Like our creator would ever put this on hiatus.**

 **Me: So not happening! I just got writer's block on another story I was writing, and I got stuck for a while.**

 **Ninjark: Well, good to see you've gotten over that crisis!**

 **Me: Yeah, I know. Hopefully that animated video of this story will be out soon.**

 **Snivels: Can we get back to the story, please? I don't want to be left hanging any longer!**

 **Crackers: Me, too.**

 **Me: Alright, then, let's get to it!**

* * *

Sarabeth, held up the bag she had found. "I know that crest," she said to herself. "It belongs to the village those do-gooders live near."

She dropped the bag and stared out onto the island's landscape. "Now all I have to do is find whoever this belongs to before Alvin does."

And that wasn't going to be very hard for her.

Not at all.

* * *

While all that was happening, Hiccup and his two Pokémon companions were still hiding out in the wilds of Outcast Island. They were very close to what looked like the stronghold.

"Think you can locate the forge from here, Snivs?" Hiccup asked.

Snivels thought for a minute. "I think so," he replied. Toothless did his best to hold Snivels up so he could smell things that were a farther distance away. After a few good sniffs, Snivels managed to pick up the familiar scent of smoke from the forge. "I think I found it," the Servine said. "It's a short ways away from the mountain."

Hiccup quickly formulated a plan in his head. "We just need to wait until the blacksmith leaves. Then I can sneak in there and make a new connecting rod."

They heard Snotlout grunt with disgust, "'ow long do I 'ave to leave my thung in heah? It'th dithguthing. I thaw Toothleth thpit in it."

That last comment made Snivels chuckle uncontrollably. It wasn't long before Toothless joined in with his own version of laughing. Snotlout rolled his eyes and held the bowl of herbal water and dragon spit closer to his mouth.

"Ugh, thith thayth like yak pieth."

"That's what you get for doing a lot of stupid stuff!" Snivels exclaimed before bursting out in laughter.

Even Hiccup and Crackers couldn't resist a decent chuckle.

* * *

At the same time, the other members of Team Go-Getters were on a search-and-rescue mission to find their friends. Phoxie was leading the group upon the back of Stormfly's daughter, Swiftwings. The other young Pokémon were riding on the juvenile Deadly Nadder's brothers, Quickclaw and Thorntail.

Phoxie, meanwhile, was using her stick wand to utilize the common tracking spell. It didn't require a whole lot of magic effort, so long as the animus performing the spell had a possession of whoever they wanted to track for a form of reference. Snivels had left his signature whips back at their house, so Phoxie was using them to track the Servine, knowing that wherever he was Hiccup and Toothless were bound to be there as well.

"You sure it's this way?" Heather asked her Braixen.

Phoxie nodded before replying. "I'm sure of it."

Astrid gave Phoxie a death glare. "This had better work, or you guys are swimming home."

Ninjark chuckled nervously, "I'm pretty sure we couldn't swim _all the way_ home. We don't really have the muscle strength to be able to..."

"It's a figure of speech!"

There was silence for a minute before Basan, who was riding on Thorntail, grumbled, "Are we there yet?" The only response he got was a "don't-you-dare-start-this-now" look from Astrid. Basan hesitated before adding, "I have to go to the bathroom."

Astrid groaned in frustration, "We asked you about that five minutes ago!"

Basan sighed, "I didn't have to go then!"

Folnir, who had been watching from above, swooped down to the Torchic's level. "I'd be willing to accompany you," he said.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "You really have to go now?" she asked, irritably. "When we finally have a clear sky? You're killing me, Basan!" The Torchic just slumped back onto Thorntail's back and groaned. Knowing Basan wasn't going to stop complaining until he did his business, Astrid finally gave in.

"Fine, make it quick."

As Basan eagerly directed Thorntail down towards the ocean below, Blaze urged Wavern up next to Stormfly, a smug grin on her face.

"Can't wait to get back to flirting with your fiancé?"

Astrid's eyes widened in surprise (and possibly embarrassment, too) before her expression hardened with frustration.

"Shut up."

* * *

It was nearly dark on Outcast Island when the blacksmith finally left the forge. The dark skies would provide the small group the perfect cover had they decided when and how they would make their way closer to the forge.

"We'll need to hurry," Hiccup whispered to his friends, "We don't know how long the blacksmith will be gone." Crackers promptly folded the flap that covered the saddlebag over, hiding himself within the large, leather pouch.

Behind them, Snotlout was reciting rather ridiculous tongue twisters to himself. The herbal liquid had helped in nulling the berries' effect, and already Hiccup and Snivels were regretting having a part in it. Unable to take any more alliterative poems, Snivels grumbled, "What. Are. You. _Doing?_ "

"Enjoying my tongue again!" Snotlout snapped in annoyance.

"Great," Hiccup muttered, "At least one of us is."

A loud growl prompted the small group to turn and see the Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmare from earlier approaching. The large dragon snapped his jaws and snarled at the group, who backed away slowly.

The Titan Wing snarled and crouched down low, ready to pounce.

Arrows suddenly whizzed past the small group, making the Titan Wing flinch. Letting out a warning growl, flew over the group and headed for the Outcasts that had shot at them with arrows from their crossbows. In spite of the large dragon attacking them, the soldiers recognized the small group standing not too far away.

"Berk intruders! It's the Dragon Conqueror!"

It didn't take long for the group to book it. The five of them - two teens, a dragon, a Servine, and a Sobble - dove into a nearby gorge, running through multiple, twisting paths, the shouts of the pursuing Outcasts gradually lessening in volume. As they headed down one of the paths, Snivels sealed off the entrance with rocks by using his Leaf Tornado to prevent the Outcasts, and whatever Pokémon they had with them, from following.

"That should hold them off for a while," Hiccup said, a little short of breath, "We'll go around and head back to the blacksmith's shop."

It took a minute for that idea to sink in before Snotlout could protest, "No way! I'm not going anywhere near that place! You guys almost got us caught!"

That comment left Hiccup momentarily stunned speechless, but Snivels managed to protest back, " _We_ almost got - the only reason the Outcasts know we're here is because _you_ not only lost the satchel with the Berk crest on it, but you also alerted that Titan Wing to our presence!" Crackers sank further into the saddlebag at the sound of the growing argument between the Viking and the Servine.

"Well, who brought the satchel with the Berk crest on it to Outcast Island?!"

"We didn't even know we were GOING to Outcast Island! If you hadn't gone flying into that storm's path...!"

"So you guys aren't prepared, and _I_ get blamed?!"

Hiccup decided to try and end the argument before it got too out of hand. "Okay, okay," he said in a calm voice, "If you don't like our ideas, then please let us hear one of yours."

Snotlout said nothing.

"Precisely as I suspected," Snivels muttered.

Hiccup sighed, "Snivels..."

Snotlout couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Oh, you guys are so smug," he said, pointing accusingly at Hiccup and Snivels.

Stunned, Hiccup stood speechless before suddenly asking, "Us?!"

Snotlout's pent-up frustration came pouring out all at once, his bitter, mocking attitude returning. "Hiccup and Snivels are _so_ smart. Hiccup and Snivels are _so_ brave. _Hiccup_ killed the Red Death. _Snivels_ can talk to dragons. _Hiccup's_ got the metal leg."

Now it was Hiccup's turn to burst. " _Metal leg_?! That's what's bothering you?! That's where you're going, 'metal leg'?!"

"No!" Snotlout yelled, "It's everything the leg is attached to!"

"Okay, well, deal with it Snotlout," Hiccup snapped, "Because as of right now, Hookfang and Heat are gone, none of my friends know where we are, and we're literally all you've got!"

"Oh, you think I need you guys?" Snotlout asked, "Because I DON'T need you! I'll go head off to Berk myself!"

With that, he turned and started to walk away.

"Good!" Snivels shouted back, "We don't need you either, go on, leave! Go get yourself eaten by a wild animal, see if we care! AT LEAST WE'LL FINALLY BE RID OF YOUR DISGUSTING ODOR!"

"AND A GOOD RIDDANCE TO YOU, TOO!"

Crackers sank as low into the saddlebag as he could at the sound of their yelling, while Toothless rolled his eyes.

* * *

The rest of Team Go-Getters hadn't been following Phoxie for very long when Palus suddenly spotted something. The Marshtomp promptly shouted out to his friends, "Guys, there's something in the water down there!"

"I've got it!" Astrid replied, steering Stormfly down toward the water, "Stormfly, tail flip!"

Cawing in affirmation, the bird-like dragon swooped down towards the surface of the ocean, swinging her tail downwards and catching the floating object. The Nadder then snapped her tail upwards, allowing Astrid to catch the object and examine it. Anyone and everyone who saw it knew instantly what it was.

Toothless's prosthetic tail fin.

Holding back tears of worry, Astrid turned to her friends. "They're probably stranded at sea," she said, "We'll fly close to the water."

The rest of Team Go-Getters soared down on their dragons, following their second-in-command's orders while still on the trail of magic aura.

"If it makes you feel any better," Phoxie said to a still upset Astrid, "The magic aura from the tracking spell has been getting stronger since we started following it."

* * *

Back on Outcast Island, the small group of Team Go-Getters members were making their way back to where they found the forge. Snivels was staring disappointingly at the plain green tail fin Toothless was wearing in place of his usual red and white with the Team Go-Getters symbol. The Servine had worked hard to create the tail fin after the original had been burned in the fight, and he'd taken the liberty of drawing a symbol on it to represent the teamwork they'd displayed in battle. And now the precious work of art was torn to shreds from the storm.

Crackers was the first to notice Snivels's depressed expression, and he promptly pointed it out to Hiccup. The little Sobble didn't like seeing others upset, especially those he looked up to as a sort of older sibling.

Snivels caught his friends' looks of concern, and sighed. "There's a reason why I made that symbol," he said, "I wanted it to mean something to everyone. That even when it seems like there's nothing you can do, there's an opportunity for you to change things for the better. If people started looking at what's the same instead of always looking at what's different, well, who knows? I wanted to teach that to others, make sure that our actions were remembered, for all our sakes. That wasn't just a symbol of our teamwork, it was the symbol of our bond."

Hiccup would have expected an explanation like that from Snivels. He leaned over and gave the Servine a pat on the head. "Thank you for telling me that," he said, "Tell you what, I'll try to make it up to you. When we get back, you can redesign the tail fin."

Snivels brightened up at the sound of that. "I have been thinking of making a few modifications to it," he said, "You know, with Heather and Ninjark being part of our Big Heroic Destiny, and everything."

It was about that time when they realized that they had nearly reached the Outcast forge. Unfortunately, Snivels was quick to notice a slight problem.

"Holy Shuckle! That's a lot of Skorupi!"

Indeed, the rocky field in front of them was crawling with the Bug and Poison-type, Skorupi. How they hadn't noticed the creepy scorpion-like Pokémon was a complete mystery.

After taking a few quick breaths, Snivels spoke in a much calmer voice, "Okay, Bug-Type Pokémon have been known to gather in large groups when looking for food, so if we can divert their attention to an area with a lot of food, we'll have a clear path to the forge."

Keeping the fact in mind, Hiccup thought for a minute before a clever, and somewhat crazy, idea formulated in his brain. Reaching into the bag hanging from Toothless's saddle, he pulled out a ripe red apple. "I thought I might have one left!"

Both Snivels and Crackers noticed the crisp red fruit in their trainer's hand. "Should we cut it up, and all take a piece?" Crackers asked.

"Nope," Hiccup replied, not taking his gaze off of the fruit, "This apple's going to get those Skorupi to move!"

Both Pokémon and dragon shot their trainer and friend confused gazes.

"Huh?"

* * *

About a minute later, the apple was dangling from a makeshift fishing rod via a string tied to its stem, directly over the group of Skorupi.

"It's simple," Hiccup explained, "We'll use the apple as bait. I'll run ahead with it, and the Skorupi will be right behind."

One of the larger Skorupi started sniffing the air, presumably catching the scent of the apple.

"That's it," Hiccup muttered quietly, "Snack time."

Suddenly, a smaller Skorupi from beside the large one looked up and saw the red fruit dangling from the string. Before the larger one could react, the small Skorupi jumped up, grabbed the apple in its claws, and pulled it free from the string, gobbling it up like that.

Hiccup stared in shock at where the apple used to be for about five seconds before having a minor freakout. "Skorupi wasn't supposed to eat the apple!"

"I think I have an idea," Snivels said, catching the attention of Hiccup and Crackers. The Servine smiled before asking, "What does a fisherman use when he doesn't have any bait, but wants to catch some fish?"

Hiccup came up with the answer almost instantly. "A lure!" He set the long pole down before continuing, "Of course! We don't have to have real food, because as long as the Skorupi think it's real, they'll follow us anyway!"

"So," Crackers muttered. "We need a lure."

Hiccup thought for a minute before another, more crazy, idea popped into his head.

"Snivs, quick question, can you walk?"

Snivels shrugged, "I can run, if that's what you need. With or without an injured foot, I'm still the fastest runner."

It took him a minute to realize that all three of his friends were staring at him expectantly.

"I don't think I like where this is going."

* * *

In a few minutes, Snivels was dressed in a somewhat convincing, yet quickly thrown together, apple disguise. He looked quite ridiculous in the costume, and Hiccup and Crackers's attempts to stifle their laughter was obvious proof of that fact. "It's a...bit of a...tight fit," Hiccup managed to choke out. Toothless let out a bark of laughter at the sight, earning a glare from Snivels.

"Yeah, okay, very funny."

The noise was starting to attract the Skorupi's attention, and the group of Scorpion Pokémon made their way toward the outcropping of rocks that had been hiding the small group. Hearing the tapping of the bug Pokémon's footsteps, Hiccup directed Toothless and Crackers to a shady spot between the rocks. "Get ready to run," Hiccup whispered to Snivels.

"Are you crazy?!" Snivels shouted, struggling to get out of his apple costume, "Get me out of this thing!"

Too late. The Skorupi all climbed over the rocks and spotted the Servine who was dressed as an apple. Usually they had good eyesight, but it was just dark enough to make their vision distort, making them believe they were looking at a real apple.

Seeing the hungry look in the Scorpion Pokémon's eyes, Crackers shouted out to his adoptive brother, "Quick! Run away before the Skorupi take a bite out of you!"

Snivels didn't need to be told twice. Ignoring the pain in his still sore left foot, he took off running in the opposite direction of the forge, the dozens of Skorupi all scurrying after him. Hiccup watched in interest as the Skorupi scurried over the rocks and after the apple-dressed Servine. "I've never seen so many of one species of Pokémon in one place," he muttered.

Crackers looked up at him with a worried look on her face. "Do you think Snivels will be able to keep ahead of all of them?" he asked.

Maybe it was a coincidence, but not long after the last of the Skorupi left the rocky field in front of the forge, Snivels lost his balance and toppled over, still in the apple costume. He groaned in defeat, "I'm applesauce."

Out of the many Skorupi that followed him, only the large one in front climbed onto him and promptly chomped down on the apple suit. The hard surface of the disguise held fast, and the Skorupi cried out in pain before jumping off of the disguised Snivels and pushing him away with a strong whack from its tail. Snivels forced himself to stay quiet as he was flipped upside down. The large Skorupi, correctly assumed to be the leader of the group, then scurried off in a different direction, with the others following suit. It didn't take long before the whole group dispersed, but all Snivels could think about was his own predicament.

"I think I broke my core."

No sooner after he said that, Hiccup, Crackers and Toothless all ran up to him. "Snivels, that was amazing!" Hiccup said, his voice mirroring his amazement.

Crackers nodded, "You lured them all away from the forge!"

Toothless warbled in agreement.

As much as Snivels appreciated their praise, he was quite embarrassed.

"I'm an apple for a day, and I need a doctor right away."

Feeling sorry for his caretaker, Crackers pushed on one side of the apple suit, and it opened up like a chest that had been turned on its side. Snivels groaned as he slid out of the shell-like disguise and onto the rocky ground. "Let's get to the forge before those Skorupi come back," Hiccup said.

* * *

It didn't take that long for the small group to reach the forge, seeing as Snivels wasn't all that far away when he tripped. However, a crude gate barred their way inside. Toothless blasted the iron bars with little effort, and they clattered loudly to the ground.

The only sound from inside the building was the crackling of the fires, which were still going strong, despite there being no one else inside the forge.

Nevertheless, the small group made their way inside and immediately started working on a replacement connecting rod. Snivels, deciding not to risk any more over-exertion, decided to stay outside and keep watch. After what seemed like hours, Snivels suddenly picked up a somewhat familiar scent from the other side of the island. A mixture of Viking muskiness, Serperior leaves, and animus magic. That meant only one thing.

Sarabeth was on the island with them.

And it was possible that she had captured Snotlout.

Despite the fact that none of them liked Snotlout, Snivels knew fully well that letting Sarabeth kill him would make the members of Team Go-Getters no better than the corrupted animus Pokémon herself. After waiting until Hiccup was finished with the replacement rod, Snivels took the chance to inform him of what his over-sensitive nose had picked up.

"Sarabeth. She's here. On the island. She has Snotlout. She's trying to lure us out."

As annoying and self-centered Snotlout was, Hiccup knew that they had to help him.

"Ideas, anyone?"

"I think I have a few," Snivels said.

* * *

Sarabeth slithered back and forth, examining the arrogant teenaged Viking that was being restrained by her binding spell.

"Don't bother trying to lie your way out," the Serperior said, "I've been keeping a close eye on everything that happens on this island. The humans here are all so bone-headed and narrow-minded, it's no mystery why Pokémon were once the dominant species. Humans are the smartest animals, but only if they think before they act. There's little doubt those kinds of traits will eventually lead to the downfall of the human species. I'm sure the Great Dark One will enjoy feeding off of your life energy once your species has recognized their defeat."

Snotlout was unable to backtalk, due to his mouth being clamped shut by another spell.

"Of course, Team Go-Getters won't bother leaving you behind," Sarabeth continued, "They're far too good-hearted and selfless to do that. Always putting others before themselves. Leaving you here to die would make them no better than any other villainous being with darkness in their heart. That's why I decided to kidnap you. To lure those adolescent heroes straight into my coils. Once they're dead, the Great Dark One can assume his desire to recreate the multiverse. Of course, none of the beings living in this universe will live to see the new one."

Hiccup and his companions were hiding behind a nearby boulder that was just large enough to hide a Night Fury. They'd heard nearly everything Sarabeth had said, but even Snivels was stumped on her mentioning "the Great Dark One."

"You said you had some ideas," Hiccup said to the Servine.

"Yeah, but many of those involve us trying to avoid the crazy animus that wants us dead," Snivels muttered. Toothless snorted in annoyance.

"So, what do we do?" Crackers asked.

No sooner after he had asked, Snivels dropped his crutches and ran out, grabbing the bound Snotlout and making a mad dash for the outcropping of rocks, but not without being spotted by Sarabeth.

"I expected you to show up, nephew."

Snivels promptly froze, but not out of fear, rather out of courage. "I'd be lying if I said the same to you," he said. "I only caught your scent just a few mere minutes ago."

Sarabeth rolled her eyes. "Honest as always," she said. She suddenly formed a sphere of dark purple energy in her left hand.

"But I'd like to see you talk your way out of this one."

Snivels turned just in time to see his aunt launch the energy sphere at him. Fortunately, he had expected her to try that, so he dodged the attack with ease, thanks to his enhanced speed. The attack instead hit a wild Houndoom, turning it into a stone statue.

"The Great Dark One will enjoy feeding off of your life energy," Sarabeth said, more to herself than to Snivels. "I will personally handle the rest myself."

Ignoring the pain in his left leg, Snivels ran behind the rock where the others were hiding.

"Please tell me you guys have a plan," Snotlout said as soon as Snivels joined them.

"I did," Snivels admitted. "But that was before I found out that my aunt can turn living creatures into stone!"

Luckily for them, Hiccup had been taking the time to fix Toothless's prosthetic tail by fitting in the newly made, and somewhat sturdier, connecting rod. "Everyone get on," he said.

He didn't need to tell them twice.

Before Sarabeth could even attempt to cast another spell, Toothless was in the air with two humans and three Pokémon on his back. The Serperior surprisingly sat back and calmly watched them leave. "Surely there will be another time," she said to herself. "Until then, I'll leave this disgusting place and find a new hideout away from these filthy humans."

* * *

No sooner had Outcast Island faded from their view, Hiccup and Snivels both started laughing in relief. "I never want to do anything like that again!" Snivels stated in between fits of laughter.

Hiccup chuckled, "That makes two of us."

Crackers just sunk into the saddlebag, timid as always.

After getting over their somewhat-of-an-accomplishment, Hiccup looked over his shoulder at his cousin, who was riding behind him on Toothless.

"Snotlout, I'm..."

"Hungry, right?"

Hiccup was about to argue, but quickly decided that it was no longer worth it.

"Yeah."

Snivels sighed at Snotlout's still selfish, and slightly dimwitted, personality.

It was going to be a long flight back to Berk.

* * *

 _Sometimes the last person you want to rely on is the one you end up being stuck with._

 _Now, being stuck with Snotlout was no picnic. But at least I still have friends to rely on._

* * *

"And where have you been?!"

The small group had successfully reunited with the rest of Team Go-Getters who had been searching for them, and had made it back to Berk before sunset. Though the large group of heroes had none of Stoick's concern, Snotlout, on the other hand, was in quite a lot of trouble.

"Going out on patrols and spending a few days on Outcast Island is no excuse for blowing off your job," Stoick said angrily, "I'm afraid you've given me no choice but to add two more weeks to your punishment, and I expect you to get back at it tomorrow morning! Those yak stalls aren't going to clean themselves!"

Hiccup and his friends watched this ordeal from a good distance away. Snotlout stood there, dumbstruck, as Stoick stomped off in a huff.

"But...but...but..."

* * *

 **Me: Man, did that take a lot longer than I would have wanted it! At least I got it done in time for Independence Day!**

 **Snivels: You have no idea!**

 **Blaze: Well, it could've been worse.**

 **Ninjark: You said it.**

 ** **Me: Read and review!****


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Breakneck Bog

 **Snivels: I'll bet you anything those guys are enjoying this story! I'd take a look at the other crossovers, but I'm a FanFiction character, so that's a logical impossibility.**

 **Ninjark: Your use of large vocabulary words stuns me.**

 **Snivels: Funny thing about my species. We're among the most intelligent of Pokémon.**

 **Blaze: I'll say. Are you even aware of how long you keeps us occupied with those speeches of yours?**

 **Snivels: Seems like they only last a few minutes to me.**

 **Amber: I think it's wonderful.**

 **Xylia: No, don't encourage him!**

 **Ninjark: Perhaps the chapter will help us take our minds off of Snivels's lectures?**

 **Blaze: You better hope it does.**

* * *

 _Everybody has lost something they thought they couldn't live without. For Snivels, it was his home and his family. For Blaze, it was trust and consideration. For Ninjark, it was confidence. For me, it was nearly everything._

 _But ever since I met Snivels, I've gotten more than I could ever ask for. And we've all learned that sometimes, to find what you lost, you have to be willing to do anything, even look fear right in the eye._

 _Just make sure you don't blink._

* * *

It had been nearly a week since the Outcast Island incident, and Snivel's injured leg had fully healed. He had already finished the redesign of the Team Go-Getters symbol, which was a three-way combination of a leaf, a flame, and a drop of water. From a glance it looked as though the leaf was cradling the flame and water as if it was holding them up from certain danger, or keeping them from falling over.

By definition, the new symbol was the perfect description of Team Go-Getters.

At that time, Snivels was carrying a basket filled to the brim with fish over to the Dragons' Meadow. His first stop was the Typhoomerang family. The three young dragons, Torch, Kindle and Singe; were nearly 3/4 the size of their mother, Kalama. Snivels reached into the basket and pulled out four large fish, one for each dragon, tossing them to the Typhoomerangs. The dragons caught the fish easily.

The Servine's next stop was the Speed Stinger pack. After feeding each of the pack members, Snivels stopped at a nearby lake.

"Geyser! Haku!"

No sooner after he'd called, the adolescent Scauldron was lifting his head out of the water. He was soon followed by a male Horsea named Haku.

Snivels counted, "Three big fish for Geyser, and one helping of seaweed for Haku."

As the dragon and his companion ate their breakfast, Snivels made his way to the Grapple Grounders and juvenile Boneknappers. The eight dragons had been attempting to find Dragon-type Pokémon partners to keep them better company whenever they had to go out on their own. Snivels had tried many times to find suitable Pokémon partners for them, but to no avail.

But for the time being, Snivels had to focus on making sure they were all eating well, and that included giving them their breakfast. Luckily there was just enough fish left for the eight dragons to have one each.

Leaving the dragons to their meals, Snivels made his way back to the home of Team Go-Getters. Blaze was sitting out on the bluff when Snivels arrived. The Servine gave her a look of pity.

"Waiting for Johann to arrive?"

Blaze nodded. "He's never been this late," she said, "I heard some talk from down at the village that Stoick's looking for him. He won't say why, though."

"Does Hiccup know?" Snivels asked.

Blaze shook her head. "I doubt it. You know how the Viking chief is with that kind of stuff."

That comment made Snivels groan in disgust.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Toothless were doing their usual morning routine: a morning flight over the ocean surrounding their island home. What was better than soaring high above the sea in the cool morning air?

"You know, it's hard for me to believe you still wake me up so early to go out flying," Hiccup muttered, mostly to himself. Toothless warbled in response.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of flapping wings heading their way. Both dragon and rider looked around to find the source of the sound, and spotted a Chatot flying toward them.

"I know this Chatot," Hiccup muttered to himself as the Chatot flew over and perched on his outstretched arm. "Where's Trader Johann?"

Johann wasn't technically Chatot's trainer. The Music Note Pokémon liked sticking around with any sailors he could find, and most of the time it was Johann.

"Johann gone!" Chatot squawked, "Shipwreck! Heading to Berk! Item for the chief! Secret! Can't tell!"

Hiccup's only response was a confused look. Clearly, Chatot wasn't the smartest Pokémon in the archipelago. But then he suddenly realized what Chatot said. Of course his father would leave him in the dark about things that seemed more important to him than anyone else at all.

And if that was the case, then he'd have to find out what was going on himself.

* * *

"Alright bud, we're going on a little field trip," Hiccup muttered as he packed another fish into the saddlebag. The duo had flown back to the Academy after their encounter with Chatot. The Music Note Pokémon was perched on top of a wooden board, watching Hiccup with interest.

"Okay," Hiccup said as packed a small container of water into the saddlebag and strapped it shut, "Now, we'll start in the west islands and make our way back."

"Back from where?"

Turning towards the sound of the familiar voice, Hiccup suddenly found himself face-to-face with his fiancée. Alongside her were Blaze and Snivels, both wearing an expression of suspicion that mirrored that of Astrid's.

Caught on the spot, Hiccup stuttered out an answer. "Oh, just a...a quick spin around the islands."

Snivels's expression went from one of suspicion, to one of disappointment and boredom. "You're lying."

Knowing he had been caught, Hiccup sighed in frustration before he began, "Fine, if you must know..."

"And we must," Blaze interrupted.

"...I'm going to find Trader Johann," Hiccup finished.

Before any of them could ask why, Chatot suddenly spoke up.

"Johann gone! Shipwreck! Heading to Berk! Item for the chief! Secret! Can't tell!"

Hiccup mentally facepalmed as Chatot repeated the exact same words he'd said to him earlier that day.

"So, when do we leave?" Snivels asked.

"Really, I'm flattered to see you guys are behind me as always," Hiccup said, "Seriously, though, I need to go alone. If all of us disappear, my dad might get suspicious."

"Go alone?" Snivels repeated, "How many times do I have to remind everyone that Go-Getters don't go it alone?"

Hiccup was about to protest when he noticed the look Astrid was giving him. The slightly narrowed eyes and self-satisfied smile said it all.

 _We're going with you._

Sighing in frustration, Hiccup finally gave in. "Okay, alright, fine! You guys can come, but that's _it_! Don't even tell the others! I'm _serious_!"

* * *

Later that morning, Hiccup flew west on Toothless, wearing a glare that could have melted titanium. Behind him was the entire company of Team Go-Getters, dragons and all.

"You're not too mad at us, are you?" Crackers asked nervously from his place behind Snivels on Buck. The juvenile Grapple Grounder was wearing a matching expression of anxiety.

"I'm pretty sure I said 'don't tell the others'!" a very annoyed Hiccup shouted, ignoring the baby Sobble's question.

"You know I'm not able to lie," Snivels said, "Especially not to my friends. Besides, you're always saying that we're better when we work as a team."

Hiccup's exasperated response was, "Next time I say that, just slap me in the face."

That instantly reminded Astrid of what she had done to him during the "Heather Incident," as they called it. Prior to their chaotic argument, she'd never caused any harm to Hiccup in the facial area. Just the thought of what had happened was enough for her to tear up. But, like a true warrior, she didn't let anyone see it.

They all flew in relative silence for a while before the Chatot, perched on top of Snivels's head, started squawking.

"Man on a raft! Man on a raft!"

All of the members of Team Go-Getters simultaneously turned their heads to look down at the water. Sure enough, a curled-up figure was floating below them on a small, wooden raft. After a quick sniff, Snivels identified the figure.

"It's Trader Johann."

It didn't take long for Toothless to swoop down and grab the unconscious form of Johann. It was time for some answers.

* * *

Team Go-Getters took Johann to a nearby island. It wasn't long after they set him down and gathered around him when he began to wake up. And when he did, he wasn't the cheerful trader he usually was.

"The fog..." he whispered, his eyes wide with fear.

Hiccup was the first to ask a question. "Johann, where's your ship?"

"No idea," the trader replied, "All I know is that I was sailing in a perfectly calm sea, the wind at my back. And the next thing I know, my entire ship is pulled out from under me, and I'm shark bait!"

"Not to mention Sharpedo," Snivels muttered. As he was saying this, the always-caring Amber offered Johann some water, which he took once he had calmed down.

"I was three days late," the old trader explained, "And trying to make up time. But I got _too close_!"

Snivels was now curious. "Too close to what?" he asked.

There was a pause before Johann finally answered.

"Breakneck Bog."

The name of the place left many, if not all, of the Go-Getters confused.

"Many a ship has sailed into its waters," Johann stated, "And few have returned!"

"Any idea why?" Ninjark asked. He had never heard of Breakneck Bog before, so the thought of few ships ever sailing away from the place intrigued him.

"Those that escape the island say it's haunted by some sort of fog monster," Blaze said.

Johann took this as his cue to continue. "Legend has it, the fog monster makes a very creepy moan. Then, it surrounds you, and scrapes the skin off your bones! And then it scrapes the bones off of...whatever's underneath!"

"Bone marrow," Snivels finished. That earned him shocked and confusing stares from his friends. "What? You guys didn't really think that studying dragons is the ONLY thing I do in my spare time, did you?"

Hoping to change the subject, Heather asked, "What else does the fog monster do?"

Johann hesitated before answering, "Then it drops the bones from the sky!"

"That's just an old sailor's tale," Blaze said, "There isn't any proof that creature exists."

"I swear, it's true!" Johann suddenly shouted, "It surrounded me!"

Hoping to change the subject, Hiccup said seriously, "Johann, we have to find your ship. Chatot said that there's something on your ship that my father was looking for."

"Yes, yes there is!" the trader agreed, "But it wasn't for your father. It was for _you_."

None of the Go-Getters had been expecting that.

"From who?" Hiccup finally asked.

"He didn't tell you?" Johann responded, "It was from your mother."

Again, silence.

"Well, we have to find it, then," Snivels said, "Do you know what it was, Johann? Where is it?"

"No idea," Johann said, "All I know is that it was in a chest with the Berk crest on it."

"Uh-huh," Blaze said, "And how are we supposed to find it?!"

"I've been to Breakneck Bog before," Snivels said, "I can lead us there."

That was all Hiccup needed to start thinking of a plan. He turned around and found all the Pokémon standing behind him. "You guys take Johann back to Berk," he ordered, "The six of us will go to Breakneck Bog."

Amber was the first to take action. Moving slowly, she guided the shaken Johann to Spiral. The Grapple Grounder eagerly let her extra passenger climb on her back. With a nod, all of the Pokémon, minus Snivels, Blaze and Ninjark; mounted the dragons and headed off to Berk with Johann.

* * *

The flight to Breakneck Bog was anything but comfortable. Snivels ended up sitting in the saddle in front of Hiccup, and it didn't help that he was just yammering on the whole way there.

"You know, one of the advantages of traveling a lot after becoming a wild Pokémon, I know this archipelago like the back of my own tail! Speaking of which, did you know that Servine always go to great lengths to keep the leaves on their tail clean? Our species can't properly photosynthesize if they're dirty. I always make sure to preen myself in the morning after I wake up, and before going to sleep at night. In fact, I can hardly remember a time when I didn't..."

"Do you ever stop talking?" asked a very annoyed Astrid.

Snivels glared back at her. "You're just glad because you didn't start out saying the name of your species!"

"How did you learn to talk, anyway?" Heather asked.

"NO!" Hiccup, Astrid, and Blaze all cried out in unison.

Snivels ignored them, and turned to Heather, smiling. "I'm glad you asked."

Hiccup, Astrid, and Blaze all groaned. Clearly Snivels had talked about this sometime before, and it had been anything but exciting. Especially if he were to accidentally add in a few embarrassing details about his friends.

"Anyway, it all started inside a small, green and yellow egg..."

* * *

"...Little did I know that the place I'd decided to rest was near a family of Speed Stingers..."

* * *

"...Learning to talk wasn't easy, but I always felt that I would eventually get the hang of it..."

* * *

"...Call it intuition, but I knew that Hiccup was the kind of trainer who would meet my expectations..."

* * *

"...The Red Death didn't go down very easily, but what really helped was that we were all working together..."

* * *

"...So that's pretty much how Hiccup and Astrid finally became official..."

* * *

"...And ever since the day I met him, I vowed to be loyal to my trainer until the end!"

"Are you through?!" Astrid half-asked, half-yelled from her position on Stormfly's back.

Snivels just gave her a look of indifference. "I'll have you know, I left out various, major and minor, details throughout my life story."

"What kind of details?" Ninjark asked. He was riding behind Heather on Windshear.

"Well," Snivels said, "There was that one time when Hiccup told me about this little slip-up in the forge. Gobber left him alone there with Astrid, and she needed to get her axe sharpened, but he accidentally..."

Before he could say anything else, Hiccup suddenly reached over and covered Snivels's mouth with his hand, his eyes wide with panic.

"That's enough!"

"It's okay, Hiccup," Blaze said from her position on Wavern's back, "She already knows. I told her. I saw what happened in the forge that day."

Hiccup was speechless at that confession. Snivels reached up and pulled Hiccup's hand away. "She's telling the truth," he said.

Hiccup turned away so that he couldn't see Astrid's expression. He'd been quite ashamed of himself accidentally chipping the blade of Astrid's axe while she was looking around in the backroom where he stored his ideas for inventions. He'd managed to replace the blade without her noticing, but even today he couldn't help but feel guilty for not sucking it up and telling her the truth.

Astrid caught the look in her fiancé's eye, and, deciding to let go of the tough girl act for the time being, grabbed her axe and unconsciously examined the blade. It was hard to tell it had been replaced, it so much resembled the old one. But there was one difference. Hiccup had made it. And he had made it for her. Sure, it was to cover up his mistake, but still.

"I actually like this blade better than the older one."

Before Hiccup could ask, a stretch of five islands, each of them supporting immense, towering peaks that stretched into the air like clawed fingers. Snivels pointed to the largest island - not only did it have a peak, it also had a large forested area swathed in thick mist, thanks to the extra moisture carried in from the ocean.

"That's Breakneck Bog."

When Hiccup, Snivels, Astrid, Blaze, Heather and Ninjark landed, the first thing they noticed was that the swamp was surprisingly humid. Sure, Snivels was used to the weather being that way, having resided on the island some time prior to moving to Berk with the Speed Stinger pack, but even summers on Berk weren't this warm.

The layout of the forest was mostly tall trees and thick fog, which meant that it would be hard for them to navigate without Snivels leading the way once again.

"Snivels, can you sniff out the ship?" Hiccup asked.

"Does a male Unfezant have red plumage on his head?" Was the Servine's response.

With that, Snivels got down on all fours and went to work sniffing nearly every inch of the ground to pick up the scent of Johann's trading supplies. Johann's scent wasn't as musky as a Viking's, so Snivels didn't have any problem with tracking it. When Snivels started heading in the direction from which the scent was strongest, his friends followed him.

"Anyone else notice something strange about this place?" Heather asked.

"You mean the fact that it's as creepy as heck?" Blaze replied, "It's like a ghost town out here!"

"I'm trying to concentrate," Snivels said, "Could you guys please keep it quiet?"

All six of his friends remained quiet after that. Well, nine counting Toothless, Stormfly, Windshear and Wavern.

Blaze had a point about Breakneck Bog being like a ghost town. The further they went, the creepier the place seemed to get. The fog thickened, the trees got taller, and the sounds of wild dragons and Pokémon gave the impression that ghosts were whispering in the wind.

After a while, much to Snivels's confusion, the scent started heading upward towards the trees. Following the scent, Snivels started walking normally as he turned his head up in the direction of the treetops. What he saw next completely blew his mind.

"Wow..."

His friends all followed his gaze. Only Blaze wasn't too shocked to speak.

"Yeah, wow."

Balancing precariously on top of the tallest tree they'd seen - besides the one Toothless had placed Astrid in prior to the romantic flight - was Johann's ship. It was hands-down the most unexpected and surprising place to find a missing boat.

"Do you guys know any tips about getting a boat out of a tree?" Heather asked.

They all looked at her like she'd just grown a second head.

Heather shrugged, "It was just a question."

If they couldn't get the boat down, then they'd go up to the boat.

As soon as the seven friends had mounted the respective dragons, they all took of flying towards the top of the tree where the boat was wedged in. But whenever they urged the dragons closer, their reptilian companion would give a derisive noise and fly to a safer height.

"That boat isn't going to hold them," Hiccup deduced, "We'll have to jump down and send the dragons below."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Ninjark asked. It wasn't that he didn't have the necessary ninja-related experience, he'd just never jumped onto a surface from so high up.

"Hiccup would never ask us to do something he knew we couldn't do," Snivels replied, "And even if something does go wrong, you're among friends, Ninjark."

That gave Ninjark the confidence he needed.

Landing on the ship's deck was surprisingly not all that bad. Even though the Trainers of Destiny and their Pokémon partners all landed at almost the exact same time, the boat didn't even budge. That meant that they could search all they wanted without worrying about the boat falling out of the tree and onto the ground below.

Seeing their riders land on the deck safely, the dragons all went to stand guard below, but not before Snivels noticed that Toothless seemed to be flying surprisingly well without anyone manually operating the prosthetic tail.

"Okay," Hiccup said, "Let's go ahead and find this thing, and get out of here. Remember, we're looking for a chest with the Berk crest on it."

"That shouldn't be too hard to find," Snivels muttered as he started sniffing every nook and cranny of the ship trying to find the chest. It wasn't long after he started when something thin and white hit the deck in front of him. He picked it up and looked at it suspiciously.

A minute later, more bones spontaneously began raining from the sky. The pale white objects hurt when they struck, and the seven friends found themselves covering their heads to avoid being knocked out by one of the offending bones.

"Below deck!" Astrid shouted over the clattering of the bones hitting the wooden floor.

Everyone simultaneously scrambled down the stairs that led below the deck of the ship, hoping to avoid being hit by the falling bones. Luckily for them, there was enough space between the ceiling and the floor for them to stand up. They all remained silent until the clattering noises had stopped.

"So it's just a regular...bone shower," Hiccup said, lamely, "And it passed."

"Bone shower," Snivels repeated, "And so I'm the only one who finds that suspicious?"

Ninjark raised his hand in regard to what the Servine had said.

"Maybe now we should resume searching for the chest?" Blaze asked, hoping to change the subject before things got too weird.

As they began to search the area, they noticed there was a sudden noise coming from above deck. It was the sound of scraping and growling. Snivels was the only one who didn't ignore it. Just as Hiccup announced that he had found the chest they were looking for, the noises escalated to resemble those made by heavy footsteps. And they were heading for the stairwell.

"Something's coming!" Ninjark shouted.

Luckily, there was an open wardrobe not too far away, and big enough for all of them to fit inside. They crammed themselves in, along with the chest, and shut the door firmly.

"Do not make a sound," Hiccup whispered.

At first, silence, and then...

"Whispering 'do not make a sound,' is a sound."

Astrid groaned in frustration at Snivels's comment.

She didn't have time to snap at him, though, because the footsteps were getting closer to their hiding place.

The knob rattled, and then the door burst open.

Expecting the worst, the three trainers and their partners all screamed. It took them about a minute to realize that the beings standing in front of them were, not monsters, but the rest of Team Go-Getters.

"You guys look like you just saw a ghost," Captain said as he played with one of the bones that had previously been dropped onto the deck of the ship.

"I told you we were scaring them too much," Amber said as Crackers hid behind her leg.

He had a good reason, too, because Astrid was steaming with anger. Stomping out of the tight space, she snatched the bone out of Captain's grasp and clubbed him in the head with it.

"So, let me get this straight," Hiccup said, "The bones falling from the sky, the scraping, that was all you?"

"We were only kidding around," Amber said, "We didn't mean to scare you all that much."

"Where's Trader Johann?" Heather asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Back on Berk," Xylia replied, "We left him with Champion and his siblings."

"We came back because we thought you might need our help," Crackers added, shyly.

Astrid wasn't satisfied. "Just so you know, I'm not going to forget this." She could have said more, but something shiny and golden from around Amber's neck caught her eye. "Where'd you get that?"

Amber looked down at the golden Mega Stone holder she was wearing. "From Hamish the Second's treasure chest," she said, "I though I'd try it on to make sure it'll fit me when I evolve."

It was about that time when the boat, no longer able to hold the extra weight, started to fall out of the tree. Everyone screamed as the ship tilted and fell toward the ground...

Only for Palus to lean out one of the windows and use Hydro Pump on the ground below. The force of the flowing water slowed down the boat's descent, and the large ship landed on the ground without any of the members of Team Go-Getters getting hurt. Still, many of them were quite shaken by what had just happened.

"Is everyone alright?" Hiccup asked. He made sure to check that the chest was still safely in his grasp as he spoke.

Before anyone could answer his question, a strange noise caught their attention. It came across as a mix between a warble and a shriek, and wouldn't have been very intimidating if it wasn't accompanied by the sudden appearance of fog streaming through the windows.

"Just so you know," Palus said as he and the others backed into the walls of the whip, "This fog? Not us."

Moving more rapidly than anyone anticipated, the thick grey cloud spared to every corner of the room. The three trainer backed away until they were pressed against the walls, and even then, the fog kept coming. Once it had covered up the floor, it began to rise up until they were quite literally over their heads in greyness.

The warbling came again, close enough that it sounded like its source was inside with them. Hiccup in particular stiffened with raw fear - whatever creature was making that sound was in the room with them! Something grabbed onto his arm, making him shout in fear, and then the chest was yanked out of his hands.

The creature shrieked, and then the fog disappeared.

Hiccup frantically scanned the area, but found no trace of object that had been in his grasp just mere moments ago. "The chest is gone!"

But that wasn't the only development.

A tiny warble made everyone aware that there was another prescience in the room besides their own.

It was a dragon, but a very small one, about the size of a Terrible Terror. It was a slate grey in color, and vaguely resembled a tiny Thunderdrum, except for its more boat-shaped body and its spinier tail and wings.

Snivels leaned in to get a closer look at the dragon before his eyes widened as he recognized the little reptile.

"Smog?"

* * *

 **Me: Yes! I updated my story (almost) on the same day as Cotton updated his!**

 **Snivels: I don't see what the big deal is about that, but okay.**

 **Blaze: Snivels, do you know that dragon?**

 **Snivels: I'll explain everything in the next chapter, I promise.**

 **Ninjark: Hopefully that won't take too long...**

 **Me: Please review!**


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Into the Fog

 **Snivels: That chapter title is making me nervous...**

 **Blaze: Yeah, well, I'm still wondering about that dragon from the previous chapter.**

 **Ninjark: I'd also like to learn about that.**

 **Snivels: Relax, guys, I'll explain everything once the chapter gets started.**

 **Kickin' Hawk: Hopefully that won't take too long.**

* * *

The small, grayish-purple dragon that Snivels referred to as "Smog" stared innocently at the three humans and the Pokémon surrounding them. He hadn't seen any creatures quite like them before. While he was sniffing the individuals, he suddenly picked up the scent of metal. And to a dragon like him, it was extremely tempting. Without thinking, he lunged and bit down hard on the piece of metal and tugged it free of whatever it was attached to. Running up onto the deck with his prize firmly in his teeth, Smog suddenly found himself being chased by an irritated Snivels.

"Smog, get back here!"

But the little dragon kept running, zigzagging back and forth across the deck of the ship until he was finally cornered near the captain's quarters. Snivels instantly caught up with him and began pulling on the metal object Smog was firmly holding in his jaws.

"Smog, stop it!" the Servine said, "This isn't tug-of-war. This isn't tug-of-war!"

While this was happening, the rest of Team Go-Getters made their way up onto the deck. Smog noticed them out of the corner of his eye as he tried desperately to keep his prize. It wasn't until he saw one of the female humans - the one with the blonde hair - helping the male human up onto the deck, that he realized what he had in his mouth. The human boy had only one leg, the second one was just about half ending in a stump. Adding to the fact that the metal object he was holding firmly in his teeth was somewhat narrow, and longer than his head, Smog quickly realized why Snivels wanted him to let go. Without hesitation, he released the metal prosthetic from his jaws and watched with guilt as Snivels returned the spring-loaded appendage to his trainer.

Hiccup immediately reattached his recently recovered prosthetic, with Astrid keeping a suspicious eye on Smog. The grayish-purple dragon slinked away, his head lowered and the tip of his tail tucked between his legs.

"It's not his fault," Snivels said, "He likes to gather metal objects. He can't always control his urges." He rushed over, grabbed the guilt-ridden dragon, and carried him over so that he was in full view of the irritated Haddock-to-be. "See, he's sorry."

Smog whimpered and hid himself behind his wings.

"Now's not the time to argue," Hiccup said, having finished reattaching his prosthetic, "We need to go after...whatever that was...and get the chest back."

"How?" Heather asked, "We don't even know which way it went."

"I think I can find it," Snivels said, "But we'll have to search from in the air in order to cover more ground."

That was something everyone could agree on.

* * *

It wasn't long before the members of Team Go-Getters were flying over the mist-wreathed forest on their dragon companions, Hiccup in the lead while the others took their usual positions. It was quite difficult trying to find anything within the white curtain that cloaked the tops of the trees, unless you had an extreme sense of smell like Snivels did.

"Are you sure Snivels will be able to find a patch of fog in a place that's covered in fog?" Heather asked.

"With an enhanced sense of smell inherited from his ancestors, there's little doubt," Kickin' Hawk said.

Smog was also looking out for anything suspicious. He'd been on the island longer than even Snivels had, and he knew more about the creatures that lived there. So when an oddly-moving patch of fog caught his eye, he squawked out a warning. Everyone's eyes were on the fog as it snaked through the trees on a straight course, as though it had a certain destination in mind.

"Is it just me," Hiccup commented, "Or does fog not move like that at all?"

Snivels shook his head. "No, no it doesn't."

Smog snarled before leaping off of Snivels's shoulder and flying off after the moving patch of fog.

"Smog, wait!"

But the little dragon ignored the cry of his concerned Servine friend. He flew ahead, his eyes fixated on the patch of fog that was weaving through the trees like a large, grey, puffy snake. Smog easily matched the fog's movements. The chase kept going with the fog creature and Smog alternating twists and turns. The Go-Getters did their best to keep up with the little grayish-purple dragon.

Eventually, they found themselves soaring into what appeared to be a clearing in the middle of the swamp. It was a very large depression in the ground that was partially covered with rock. On one side of the clearing was a cave, but with little signs of Pokémon or dragon activity.

"Did we lose it?" Hiccup asked, looking around for any sign of the fog creature.

"I don't know," said a very green-looking Palus. "But I did lose my lunch back there."

Smog had also landed in the clearing, and he was snapping and hissing at something above them. Ever so slightly, the cloud of mist was creeping its way into the clearing until the members of Team Go-Getters couldn't see through to the other side. Then the strangest thing happened.

The fog started hissing back.

As Team Go-Getters watched, the fog slowly started to break apart, and then dissipated entirely, revealing the fog creature within...

Multiple grayish-purple dragons that looked exactly like Smog.

The little dragon wasn't happy to see them, either. The more he hissed, the louder the other dragons hissed back at him. He'd crossed paths with them a few times, and none of those times had been pretty.

Snivels examined the dragons before his eyes suddenly widened with realization. "Of course! Those are Smothering Smokebreath dragons! I don't know how I didn't recognize them earlier!"

Smog hissed at his rivals again, despite the knowledge that he was vastly outnumbered. But the group of Smokebreaths weren't interested in the younger, more lone one of their kind. Instead, they re-formed their foggy cover and flew off as a group. Their foggy blanket made it incredibly hard to see where they were heading off to, unless you had a strong sense of smell like Snivels did. But the Servine was more focused on making sure his friends were okay. By the time the fog cleared, the only Smothering Smokebreath in plain sight was Smog.

"Is anyone else ready to leave this place?" Captain asked as the fog cleared to reveal a seemingly empty clearing.

"We can't leave," Hiccup said, "Not without that chest, anyway."

"We don't even know for sure if they have it," Amber said.

Crackers timidly pointed to a metal anchor that the group had overlooked, lying on the ground near the entrance to the cave on the other side of the clearing.

"No, but I've got a pretty good idea."

His voice prompted his friends to turn and see the object which he was pointing to. Within a minute, everyone, minus the dragons, was crouched behind a small hill that sat almost right in front of the cave entrance. The Go-Getters took their positions by flattening themselves against the hill and peering over the top.

"Snivels, what do you know about Smothering Smokebreaths?" Hiccup asked.

"Well," Snivels started, "They hide themselves in a veil of fog, they're very rare and extremely territorial, and they gather metallic items to build their nest with as a method of protection against larger dragons."

"Folnir would probably be of good use right about now," Ninjark said.

Indeed, the Yveltal that had pledged his trust and loyalty to Hiccup's team was absent.

"He's babysitting the kids back on Berk," Blaze replied, "And keeping an eye on Trader Johann so he doesn't get himself into any more trouble."

Hiccup then started considering all of their possible options. "I wish I could see inside that cave. That's got to be where the Smokebreaths' nest is."

Snivels darted over to the dragons and grabbed something from Toothless's saddlebag that he had packed at the last minute. He immediately zipped back and handed it to Hiccup.

"Use these."

Hiccup stared in confusion at what appeared to be a pair of spyglasses strapped together. He cautiously lifted the object up and peered through it. When he centered the binoculars on the cave entrance, he nearly dropped them. Inside the cave was a ridiculously large collection of various objects, including shields, weapons, jewelry, and many other human-made objects.

And then Hiccup saw the item that was sitting on top of the biggest pile of the Smokebreaths' loot, illuminated by a ray of sunlight that was streaming through a small hole in the cavern wall. A chest with the Berk crest on it.

"It's in there!"

But, as soon as he said it, a handful of Smokebreaths became visible, clearly guarding the chest.

"We've got to get them away from that chest," Blaze mused.

"But how?" Ninjark asked.

Snivels thought hard for a minute. "What we need is a distraction."

Amber slowly shifted her gaze down at the golden Mega Stone holder she was wearing around her neck. She sighed, knowing what is was she had to do.

* * *

"Here, dragons!" Amber called out, standing atop the lip of the small hill and dangling the golden Mega Stone holder in front of her. "I've got something for you guys!"

Before long, the Smothering Smokebreaths all flew out of the cave under their foggy guise to investigate what was going on outside their lair. When they saw Amber and her "gift," they immediately began circling the Charmeleon.

"Hurry up, guys," Amber muttered as she tried to keep the golden piece out of the dragons' reach.

Meanwhile, the Trainers of Destiny and their dragons stood at the ready, hidden from the Smokebreaths' view.

"We'd better move," Hiccup said, "Those guys will be done with Amber any minute."

Toothless bounded down into the clearing, taking long strides toward the now unguarded cave. Stormfly and Windshear followed him with their respective riders. Once inside, the group of six found themselves surrounded by piles of metallic junk.

"Trader Johann isn't the only one who must have run into these guys," Astrid commented. She could see a few weapons lying amongst several other things she almost didn't recognize.

Once he had gotten off Toothless's back, Hiccup went straight for the chest. Luckily for him, it was situated at the top of a stack of crates and barrels, making it easy for him to climb up and reach it. In moments, he had it in his grasp and was making his way back down to solid ground.

That was when Windshear shrieked in alarm. A light fog was making its way into the cave, a fact noticed by both Astrid and Heather.

"Hiccup, they're coming back!"

Slowly, but surely, the fog was filling up the whole cavern. Hiccup tried to climb down faster, but when you're carrying a heavy chest, it was easier said than done. With the fog closing in fast, Hiccup reversed his direction and began climbing up the stack of crates and barrels.

"Toothless!"

In less than a second, the Night Fury was there, spreading his wings and flapping the fog away. It didn't take long for him to clear the cramped clearing of the mist. Without any hesitation, Hiccup mounted his dragon friend and urged Toothless out of the cave. The girls did the same with their dragons. But before they could fly away to freedom, their attention was drawn elsewhere.

"HELP!"

Amber was literally surrounded by Smokebreaths as they tried to pry the golden brace-like Mega Stone holder from her grasp. Before Hiccup could direct Toothless toward the Charmeleon in distress, Snivels and Smog were there in an instant. With the Servine using his whips and the Smothering Smokebreath biting and scratching, the pack of dragons began to disperse, leaving enough room for the Grapple Grounders to swoop in and grab them.

On the ground, the rest of Team Go-Getters saw their friends flying on their dragons above Breakneck Bog, and went to join them on their own dragons. In only about a minute, everyone was airborne and heading back in the direction of Berk.

But the Smothering Smokebreaths were following them.

It was Amber who looked back and found three or four Smokebreaths inches from her, trying to snatch the golden Mega Stone holder in her grasp. She tried to fend them off with Slash, but the greyish-purple dragons were persistent. As she went to use Slash on one of them, another zipped over and snatched the golden accessory out of her grasp.

"No!"

But the dragon was out of her reach before she could grab a hold of it. She watched in despair as the Smokebreath retreated back to its pack with the golden accessory in its jaws. Even then, the pack kept following them, eager to grab whatever metal objects the team had on them.

 _They must want the chest back,_ Hiccup said to himself.

He failed to notice one of the Smothering Smokebreaths was rapidly gaining on him and Toothless. Astrid noticed and shouted a warning.

"HICCUP!"

Too late.

Fangs closed around Hiccup's metal leg and pulled him off of Toothless, so quickly that he barely had the time to grab hold of the saddle while still holding onto the chest. With nothing to control the tail fin, Toothless began to plummet with Hiccup holding on to the saddle for dear life. The Smothering Smokebreath tightened its grip on the metal leg, waiting for the moment where it would fly away with its prize firmly in its jaws.

The worst part? Even with Hiccup hanging desperately onto his dragon, with his metal leg being used as the object of tug-of-war between him and a crazed Smokebreath, no one could think of any way to help. Chances are, their attacks would hit Hiccup or Toothless instead.

But, at last, someone acted.

Smog.

Hiccup nearly lost his grip on the saddle as the Smokebreath suddenly gave an extremely hard yank on his prosthetic before being pulled away. The dragon let out a painful shriek as Smog bit down hard on its tail, freeing Hiccup in the process, and turned its head to bite him back.

With the wild Smokebreath distracted, Hiccup pulled himself into the saddle just in time to reopen Toothless's tail fin and prevent them from crashing to the ground. The chest was still firmly in his grasp.

A shriek from Smog caught everyone's attention as the wild Smokebreath bit down on his wing.

Out of all who heard the dragon's cry of pain, only Laetio reacted.

The Shiny Noibat dove headfirst towards the pair of fighting dragons, ignoring Heather's shouts of concern. With his attention only on the wild Smokebreath, Laetio tucked in his wings and Tackled the crazed dragon hard. Knocked out cold, the wild Smokebreath plummeted helplessly, disappearing into the trees.

Now with the wild Smokebreath no longer hanging onto his broken wing, there was nothing left to keep Smog airborne.

Except Laetio.

The Shiny Noibat swooped underneath Snivels's Smokebreath friend and flapped his wings as fast and hard as he could. Slowly, but surely, the pair began to rise into the air until they were soaring side by side with the other Go-Getters.

Everyone was wide-eyed and speechless until Snivels spoke up.

"Laetio's flying!"

The Shiny Noibat had a hard time registering what his caretaker had said.

" _I flying?_ "

Looking around, Laetio suddenly realized that he didn't have any form of support while in the air.

" _I flying!_ "

He couldn't help it. He shouted out his accomplishment in pure happiness.

" _I FLYING!_ "

After calming down, the Shiny Noibat steered himself so that Smog could leap into Snivels's arms. The Servine looked over his friend, most specifically, the dragon's limp wing.

"It's broken," Snivels said grimly.

Smog looked up at him worryingly.

"Don't worry," Snivels said, comfortingly. "I fixed it before, I can fix it again."

Hiccup sighed with relief as Laetio rejoined Heather and the rest of her team. "Let's go home."

* * *

At last, after reuniting Johann and his Chatot with their ship so they could return to their ocean voyages, the moment of truth had arrived.

The chest Team Go-Getters had recovered from the Smothering Smokebreaths was set on the table in front of the entire gang, Folnir and the children included.

Hiccup stood nearly frozen as he stared down at the chest, wondering what could be inside.

Snivels stepped forward so that he was standing right beside his nervous trainer.

"Go ahead, open it. We're all behind you."

That was all Hiccup needed. Taking a deep breath, he walked forward and pushed open the lid of the chest.

Inside was a small, grey figure. Soft and plush, made in a shape that resembled the Red Death, but with only two eyes and lacking the club at the end of its tail. Clearly it was meant for a young child.

When Hiccup took it and held it in his hands, he suddenly realized the significance of the item.

"I remember this."

"You should," Kickin' Hawk replied, "Your mother made that for you when you were just a baby. Scared you nearly to death. You couldn't sleep for a week!"

"Hiccup was afraid of dragons?" asked a disbelieving Snivels.

No one else said anything, clearly interested.

"Terrified," Kickin' Hawk confirmed, "One day, he had enough of that thing and threw it into the sea!"

"Then how did Johann find it?" Heather asked.

"It showed up in a fishing net," said Kickin' Hawk, "The fisherman showed it to Johann and made a trade for it, and Johann contacted Stoick."

"Speaking of which," Ninjark said, "Should we tell him we found the item, or stuffed dragon, or whatever?"

Snivels shook his head and grabbed the stuffed dragon from Hiccup to get a better look at it.

"I think Buttons has gone through enough excitement for one day."

Astrid couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "You _named_ it?!"

Her sudden yell startled Smog, who was resting with his wing in a splint. Terrified of the soon-to-be Haddock's wrath, he scampered into a dark corner and hid behind his uninjured wing.

Following the dragon's movement with his eyes, Snivels suddenly spotted Amber slouching in a nearby corner. Handing Buttons back to his owner, the Servine went to join his depressed mate.

"I'm sorry about the accessory," he said, "I know how much it meant to you."

Amber sighed, "There wasn't much you could do. That Smokebreath suprised all of us."

"Maybe," Snivels said, "But there's something I can do about it now."

Dashing off, and then reappearing a second later, Snivels handed Amber a golden ring big enough to fit on a Charizard's tail. It had the same circular indent in which a Mega Stone could fit.

"I know it's not as pretty as the accessory you lost," Snivels said, somewhat nervous, "But it's the least I can do to help you."

Momentarily speechless, the Charmeleon stared at the ring in awe, amazed at how light it appeared in her grip.

"I..." She hesitated before finally speaking, "I don't know what to say. It's beautiful!"

Snivels looked away, his cheeks red with a visible blush. However, Amber grabbed his face so that he was looking at her before she captured his lips in the longest, most passionate kiss they'd ever had. Snivels went completely limp at his mate's show of everlasting love to him.

When Amber finally let go of Snivels, he stuttered a few nonsense words before finally fainting. Chucking at her mate, Amber resumed admiring the golden ring he had given her.

* * *

Later that night, Hiccup carefully placed Buttons so that it was nestled in a cozy spot on the headboard of his bed. Stepping back and taking a good look at the stuffed dragon that had just been given a name by Snivels the Dragon Name Giver himself, Hiccup found himself smiling. A small nudge reminded him that Toothless was waiting for their usual flight after sunset. But he was interrupted by a familiar voice before he could mount the black dragon.

"Do you miss her?"

Recognizing Astrid before he had to turn and face her, Hiccup's smile faded.

"I was so little when my mom...you know...I never even knew her, aside from what my dad said about her."

Sensing the pain in his voice, Astrid went to comfort her fiancé.

"I'm sorry."

Hiccup just shrugged. "There wasn't anything we could do. But I appreciate your comfort."

Toothless warbled impatiently, making sure his rider took the hint that he was still waiting for him so they could go out flying.

Hiccup turned so that he was fully facing his fiancée. "I know you're not really the most romantic person, but would you care to join us on our flight?"

His answer, of course, was a punch in the arm. Then, without so much of a reason, came the usual kiss.

Dazed by the shock of both actions, Hiccup was left momentarily speechless after Astrid pulled away. "Is that a yes?"

Astrid smiled at him. "In every possible way."

Toothless just rolled his eyes as both of them mounted him, with Astrid behind Hiccup, like she had been during the romantic flight.

"Before I forget," Hiccup said suddenly, "Did you really mean what you said earlier about the blade of your axe?"

Astrid promptly repositioned herself so that she was hugging his torso. "Yeah, I did."

Hiccup couldn't help by smile. She'd obviously forgiven him for his slip-up, and as a plus, he couldn't help but admire how beautiful she looked up close. "Thanks."

Astrid suddenly pulled back. "Actually, I should be the one thanking you."

Confused, Hiccup looked at her over his shoulder. "For what?"

Her answer made them both smile.

"For opening my eyes to the truth."

Hiccup couldn't hold back anymore. He reached back and took her hand in his own, which was something he rarely initiated. "Anything for you, my lady."

Toothless, who wasn't sure how much more mush he could handle, made his way to the window, leaving Hiccup enough time to click his prosthetic into the stirrup and allow the tail fin to open.

Both of Toothless's riders marveled in the beauty of the fading light. It had felt like a long time since either of them had been out by themselves, dragon or no dragon. Easing Toothless into a steady glide, Hiccup looked over his shoulder, smiling when his green eyes met Astrid's blue ones.

"Astrid?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Astrid nearly replied with the typical response, but caught herself and instead gave him a playful punch in the arm.

If you could call it that, anyway, because it did hurt - a lot.

"You've been saying that a lot."

Hiccup shrugged. "I know," he said, "But I mean it."

She knew he did. What other way was there to explain every single gesture, big or small, that he made to assure her his words were true?

If they hadn't been flying at that moment, she definitely would have kissed him. And not a simple little peck, but a meaningful one.

So instead, she verbally responded to his words.

"I love you, too."

The rest of the flight was in silence, much to Toothless's relief, but with an occasional embrace or small kiss on the cheek. Bork Week was approaching fast, and with it, the day they'd finally get to meet Fjord in person, and the day they would be married.

But for now, it was just them on the back of a dragon as dark as the night.

And that's just how they liked it.

* * *

 _Most people are afraid of things because they don't understand them._

 _For Snivels, it's eels. For Blaze, it was storms. For Ninjark, it was rejection._

 _For me, it was dragons._

 _But, thanks to a certain Servine, my greatest fear became my best friend._

* * *

 **Me: That took a heck of a lot longer than I wanted it to! But every time I think of how a scene should play out, it's different than last time.**

 **Snivels: Wish I knew how that felt.**

 **Ninjark: So, Smog's your friend because you healed his broken wing?**

 **Snivels: I'm glad you caught on like that.**

 **Blaze: No matter where we go, Snivels knows EVERYBODY!**

 **Amber: I think it's sweet!**

 **Snivels: I think she's still spellbound by my gift.**

 **Xylia: You think?**

 **Me: Read and review!**


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35: The Times They Are a Changewing

 **Snivels: I see what you did there!**

 **Me: Pretty clever, right?**

 **Blaze: Hold on, Changewing? There's a Changewing in this?!**

 **Me: Just relax, everything is completely and entirely under control.**

 **Snivels: I trust Caitlyn.**

 **Blaze: You trust Caitlyn?**

 **Snivels: Yes, yes I do.**

 **Ninjark: I second that.**

 **Me: Thank you!**

 **Crackers: Um, can we please start the chapter?**

* * *

 _Typical heroes are strong, tough, and courageous. But there are many who display their strength in their own, special way. F_ _or some, however, showing strength isn't always easy._

 _Especially with how fast everything can change._

* * *

Snivels was jealous.

And that was something that didn't happen very often.

The Prince of Pokémon was lying on his trainer's bed and glaring at Buttons. There were times where the Servine felt as though he, himself, were an inanimate object or a mere possession. But those moments were about as rare as finding a wild Shiny Pokémon.

And lucky them, they'd gotten three.

Snivels was still contemplating this fact when Hiccup finally returned. When the young Haddock asked his partner what he was doing, Snivels angrily replied with, "Do you remember what you said to me last night?"

Hiccup looked confused. "Snivels, what are you talking about?"

Said Servine turned his attention away from Buttons and glared at his trainer. "Does 'we can study the dragons tomorrow' ring a bell?!" He even went so far as to mimic his trainer's voice. Whether or not Hiccup actually remembered anything, he was more annoyed with something else.

"I don't sound like that!"

Unfazed by his trainer's words of protest, Snivels continued, "The last time you missed out on our guys' day off, you said you were sorry, that you'd become 'distracted,' and that you'd make sure not to miss it the next time!"

Hiccup sighed in frustration. "Snivels, I told you, Astrid and I are going to get married soon, so we need time to make preparations."

Snivels glared at Hiccup. "Oh, I get it," he said, "You get to go on a little date with your fiancée while I stay home and look after Buttons!" Snivels paused, and then threw the stuffed dragon on the floor.

"AND HE'S NOT EVEN MINE!"

Snivels climbed off of Hiccup's bed and went to leave the room. When Snivels wasn't looking, Hiccup bent over and picked up Buttons, putting it back in its safe place at the head of the bed.

By the time he turned around, Snivels was already gone.

* * *

Snivels didn't stop running until he reached an uninhabited island several miles away from Berk, where he started pacing back and forth on the sandy beach.

"Snivels, this stinks! Anyone without a brain would think that you're valued as one of the most important members of the team, but no, your own trainer forgets about the guys' day off and backs out so he can go all mushy over his significant other! Now, normally you wouldn't mind that, with the two of them being meant for each other and everything, but no Go-Getter ever breaks a promise! And now, here you are, pacing back and forth on the beach of an uninhabited island, talking to yourself because you like hearing the sound of your own voice!"

He would have gone on like that for a while if he hadn't noticed movement from up in the air. Shielding his eyes from the sun, Snivels looked up and saw a woodpecker-like Pokémon flying above him.

"Hey, is that a Pikipek?"

His answer was a face-full of a disgusting white substance that came out of the Pikipek's rear end.

"Oh, yuck!"

Running to the ocean water to wash his face off, Snivels dunked his head in so quickly he ended up getting sea salt in his eyes. Yelling out in pain, Snivels pulled himself out of the water. He could have sworn he heard the Pikipek laughing as it flew away. And this made him even more angry. Fuming, he picked up a rock and threw it away towards the inland forest.

"That's some way to treat the Prince of Pokémon!"

By this time, the Pikipek was too far away to hear the Servine's complaints. Snivels sighed in extreme frustration.

"I hate this island."

No sooner after he'd said that, there was a loud buzzing sound from where he had thrown the rock. Looking over nervously, Snivels realized the rock had hit a wasp's nest, and the wasps were all swarming out and headed straight for him.

In no time, the peace and quiet of the island was disrupted by a piercing scream as Snivels ran through the forest trying to avoid getting stung by the millions of billions of wasps that were chasing him. However, with all of his focus on the wasps, Snivels forgot to look where he was going and ended up tripping over a large tree root, which sent him tumbling down a hill and falling face-first in a rather deep, and very large, puddle of mud. Bubbles formed at the surface of the mud as a completely submerged Snivels made his way to the other side of the large puddle, where he climbed out whilst gasping for air.

That was when he noticed the nest.

It was almost completely demolished, with pieces of sticks and blades of grass and other greenery scattered all over the area. A large tree that had been toppled over was nearby, with the dead body of a dragon crushed underneath it.

Snivels remembered that there had been a terrible storm the previous night, and deduced that this was the result of it. Shaking a majority of the mud off of his body, Snivels went to take a closer look before something brightly colored caught his eye. Turning, he saw a color-changing dragon egg lying perfectly safe and intact in a nearby bush.

Most likely, the dead dragon's offspring.

A pang of dread filled Snivels's gut as he approached the egg and carefully lifted up to his eye level.

"Poor thing. So young, and so close to life..."

All thoughts of what he'd been mad about earlier out the window, Snivels cradled the egg close and began to make his way out of the forest.

"But don't worry. I know a family that will love you, no matter what."

* * *

Night had fallen, and there was still no sign of Snivels. The Go-Getters had searched as much of the island as they could in hopes of finding their missing friend, but they hadn't had any luck at all. They met back at their house, with Amber and Flare using their flames to light up the area a bit.

"I'm starting to get a little worried about Snivels," Blaze murmured, her voice matching her concern.

"How do you think I feel?" Hiccup asked, his face etched with worry.

"Maybe he just wandered off," Heather said, "Doesn't he normally wander off at some point of the day, and then someone asks where he is?"

Hiccup sighed. "Yes, but he's never been away for this long before. I'd be devastated if something happened to him."

It was quite a shame Snivels had not been there to hear him say that.

Speaking of which...

"What is that?"

As one, everyone turned to gaze in the direction that Ninjark was facing. The Speed Stinger pack, who had left to search the other islands for their adopted member, were heading back towards them. Mounted on top of Raptor was Snivels, and he was holding a round object that was glowing and changing colors. When the Stingers stopped in front of Team Go-Getters, Snivels dismounted his adopted father to find himself face-to-face with his teammates/family members.

"Where were you?!" Amber asked, "You know, a lot of us were worried sick about you!"

"I needed to get some air," Snivels said, "But I ended up getting in over my head. But I did find this." He held up the object he was holding. "I found this egg next to its dead mother, and I knew I couldn't leave it there, so I thought I'd bring it back with me."

Everyone simultaneously leaned in to get a better look.

"I've never seen an egg like that before," Hiccup said, reaching out with a hand to brush the egg's smooth surface. "Where'd you find it?"

"Never mind that," Astrid said, not taking her eyes off of the egg, "What kind of dragon egg is it?"

Snivels thought for a minute about which question he should answer first before he decided to go with the one that seemed more important.

"I think I may know."

* * *

A few minutes later was the time for studying the Book of Dragons. Snivels flipped through the pages to try and find a picture of the dragon whose dead body was lying next to the egg he'd found. It took a while before he managed to find a match.

"There! That's the dragon I saw!"

Everyone shuddered as they studied the picture of the dragon that was displayed on the page.

Changewing.

Snivels read through the information. "Sprays a corrosive acid...believed to hypnotize their prey...can camouflage into any background so that they're practically invisible."

"I'm amazed they were able to draw it," Blaze said, "Especially since you'd have a hard time seeing it."

"Does it say anything about their eggs?" Crackers asked.

Snivels read a little further. "Yes. It says that Vikings often mistake the eggs as Stones of Good Fortune and bring them back to their village, which, of course, ends in the destruction of many homes courtesy of the angry mothers."

"Speaking of eggs..."

As one, everyone turned to gaze in the direction that Ninjark was facing. The egg Snivels had found was wobbling back and forth, with cracks beginning to cover the eggshell.

It was hatching.

Bits of eggshell chipped off as the dragonet tried to fight its way into the world, drops of acid spilling out and corroding through the wooden floor of the house. The chirps and small grunts from the baby Changewing were the only sounds that were heard throughout the entire household, besides the cracking of the smooth, yet protective, eggshell.

Finally, with one last grunt, and a few extra drops of green acid, the baby Changewing pushed its way out of the egg, her green skin matching that of the acid she'd used to fight her way to freedom.

Of all the people and Pokémon in the room, the baby Changewing's eyes landed on Snivels. The little dragonet tilted her head, her eyes asking, " _Are you my mommy?_ "

That did it for Snivels.

"Oh, she's so cute!"

Without waiting to see how everyone else in the room would react, Snivels reached forward and grabbed the Changewing dragonet, cradling her to his chest.

"You're so cute, yes, you are! Yes, you are! Who's a cute wittle baby dwagon, huh?"

The Changewing dragonet's only response was a rather big yawn.

That made Snivels fawn over her even more. "Oh, the poor wittle dwagon is so tired from hatching out of her wittle egg! Poor baby!"

Everyone else was too stunned from what they had witnessed to stop Snivels from rushing upstairs with the baby Changewing cradled in his arms. The Servine prince set the Changewing dragonet on the floor and looked around. "Okay, let's see, you need a bed to sleep in..."

Snivels's eyes landed on a pile of extra clothing, mostly pants, and he quickly brought it over to where the Changewing was, setting them down and placing her in the middle. "There you go," he said as the Changewing dragonet settled into her new bed. "It's the best _seat_ in the house!" He laughed at his own joke.

The baby Changewing curled up into the fabric, stretching her wings and legs, yawning, before settling into a peaceful sleep.

"Take her back, Snivels."

Startled, the Servine turned to see the three Trainers of Destiny, along with Blaze and Ninjark, standing behind him. They obviously came up while he was distracted with the baby Changewing.

Snivels sighed before replying to Astrid's request.

"You know she can't fend for herself out there. Changewings aren't known for raising a dragonet that isn't theirs. She'll die out there in the wilderness! We can't take her back!"

Now it was Astrid's turn to sigh. "Listen, I'm perfectly okay with having a Whispering Death on our side, but a Changewing? That's crossing the line!"

Snivels moved so that he was standing in between the Changewing dragonet and the irritated Haddock-to-be. "No! I won't let you take her away from me!"

Hiccup decided that now was a good time to step in before things escalated any further. "Guys, guys, please. I get that you both want to do what you think is right, but we need to work this out as a team. We'll take the Changewing back to the island, and if things don't go well, she can stay here."

That seemed fair enough to both Snivels and Astrid, because their standoff ended almost instantly, with Snivels picking up the Changewing dragonet and cradling her close to him in a comforting manner.

Little did anyone know, a few of the Vikings from the village down below had seen the glowing egg when Snivels returned with his pack, and were just learning from Gobber that it appeared to be a Stone of Good Fortune.

And unfortunately for Team Go-Getters, Snotlout was among them.

"Stone of Good Fortune, eh...?"

* * *

In the dark of the night, the Go-Getters, human, dragon and Pokémon alike, traveled over the ocean, whether flying or running on the water. Their destination was a complete mystery to all of them except for the Speed Stinger pack and Snivels.

As they traveled, Hiccup began to realize that Snivels wasn't entirely focused on the task at hand. "You sure that you're okay, Snivs?"

The Servine didn't answer right away, keeping his attention on the Changewing dragonet he was holding close. "You don't need to question any feelings that concern Snivels Siebold Snaketail, Prince of Pokémon, until the task at hand is fulfilled."

Hiccup was shocked speechless by this. Never once had Snivels referred to himself by his full name, or his royal title for that matter.

The rest of the journey was in silence as a result, except for when the island destination came into view. Snivels sat up a little higher from atop his adopted father's back in order to get a good view at the island they were rapidly approaching.

"This is it."

Within a few minutes, the Go-Getters were on the beach, dragons and all. Snivels was out in front, still holding the Changewing dragonet. He could hear the faint hissing of the distant Changewing females who were all guarding their nests from possible intruders. One lone male - the leader of the pack - and his mate made their way towards the wary Servine, their chameleon-esque ability to blend in with their surroundings keeping them hidden from view.

Snivels watched with what appeared to be indifference as the alpha male and female dropped their disguises, their naturally red scales leaving her in full view on the white sands of the beach. The gazes of the two Changewings were entirely on the dragonet Snivels was holding.

" _What is the meaning of this?_ " the male Changewing hissed warningly.

" _We don't mean you any harm,_ " Snivels said, making sure he was speaking in Dragonese, " _We just came to deliver this dragonet. We have reason to believe her parents were killed in a storm, and she needs someone to look after her._ "

The female Changewing huffed. " _Chameleon died in the storm trying to protect his precious egg, and no one has seen any sign of Phantom since then. But we're all too busy caring for our own eggs to bother with that early hatcher. If you care so much about the little one's safety, then **you** take her!_"

With that, the Changewing lashed out with her tail, which smacked the baby Changewing in the face, hurling her across the sand. Everyone collectively gasped. They didn't have to ask what the dragon had been saying.

Her actions said it all.

The two Changewing leaders gave out another large huff before flying off to return to their own nest.

Snivels made sure the irritated alphas was out of sight before rushing over to the baby Changewing and cradling her in his arms once again. There was a long, thin gash on the side of the baby's face, which would most likely leave a scar. Other than that, the dragonet was perfectly fine. She cooed at the sight of the Servine, snuggling into him as if he was her parent.

Which, at that point, he was.

Snivels gave the dragonet a small smile before it quickly faded as he remembered that there were still people back on Berk who wouldn't take the news of a baby Changewing very lightly. "We should go."

Soon after, the Go-Getters were all in the air again (except for the Speed Stingers), heading for their home back on Berk.

But even the dragons' better hearing and sight didn't detect the Monstrous Nightmare perched on top of a very tall sea stack that jutted out of the ocean off the coast of the Changewings' island home.

Snotlout snickered as he watched the oblivious team of heroes fly by. "If I want something, I take it. Suckers..."

He and Hookfang leapt off the sea stack and headed directly towards the island Team Go-Getters had inadvertently led him to.

Little did he know, he'd be bringing the wrath of quite a few angry Changewing mothers back with him...

* * *

The morning after the little confrontation on the Changewings' island wasn't as much better as the night before. Not everyone in the household was happy with Snivels now being the adopted parent of a baby Changewing. Astrid watched with concern and slight suspicion as Snivels tucked the baby Changewing, now named Glory, into a miniature dragon bed with Terrorspin, her "big brother" Whispering Death.

"I'm telling you, Snivels, it's a bad idea."

Snivels sighed as he walked past the Haddock-to-be and started to descend the stairs. "What is it you have against Changewings? They're practically like every other dragon out there!"

Astrid followed Snivels back down to the main floor, where their friends were eating breakfast. "I don't want anyone taking care of a dragon whose acid will corrode our house to the ground every other week!"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed," Snivels said as he went to grab a bowl of stew, "I'm an expert on dragons, and that includes raising them from infanthood!"

"But have you ever actually raised a Changewing?" Astrid asked.

Snivels didn't answer.

Astrid scoffed. "I knew it. You know as well as I do that there are things you're afraid of doing that involve dragons, you just won't admit it."

"Are you suggesting that I'm a coward?" Snivels asked.

By this time, their argument had caught the attention of everyone in the room, especially Hiccup.

"What I'm saying," Astrid said, "Is that if you spent a little more time training with your peers instead of documenting dragons all the time, you might actually learn something important."

Snivels rolled his eyes. "So basically I adopt a lifestyle that fits you better? Training every single day, not bothering to think about what other people are doing?! We can't all be like you, Divine Beauty!"

Hiccup decided that now was a good time to step in before things escalated any further. "Guys, guys. Don't you think you're both overacting?"

His answer was the same from both ends of the argument.

"SHUT UP, HICCUP!"

Said boy flinched at the simultaneous yells of his fiancée and Pokémon partner. He slowly backed away as the argument continued to escalate far beyond his management capabilities.

"We can't go on like this!" Snivels nearly shouted, "Ignorance is our enemy!"

"It's not ignorance, it's stubbornness! There's a difference!"

"Well, you're certainly having a hard time proving that!"

"If this is about what happened before the battle on Dragon Island, I swear to Arceus, you've got an entirely new problem to face!"

Snivels scoffed at this. "I don't believe this! You know, you're behaving like a..."

He paused. He was uncertain about finishing that sentence. And he probably never would have if Astrid hadn't dared him to. "Go ahead. _Say it_!"

Snivels breathed in before finishing his sentence loud enough for everyone both inside and outside to hear. "Like a **_Viking_**!"

Anyone else would have backed down from the argument right then and there.

But not Astrid.

"Well, here's the deal, whether you like it or not, I was trained to be a Viking!"

Snivels scoffed. "Yeah, but at least you never got the chance to kill anything!"

That set off a full-scale blowout that seemed to shake the entire island.

"So you want to play like that, huh?! Well, then, at least I didn't spend my first winter freezing to death!"

"At least _I_ didn't have nightmares about the Red Death and cried myself to sleep every night!"

"At least **_I_** didn't lose my parents to a tribe of Vikings!"

"Oh, yeah?! Well..."

The room was silent for a collective moment as everyone who wasn't participating in the argument waited for Snivels to finish.

" _ **AT LEAST I DIDN'T SHUT OUT THE ENTIRE WORLD FOR THE MAJORITY OF MY LIFE!**_ "

With that, the fuming Servine stomped out of the house and slammed the door behind him with the force of a fully-grown, male Machamp.

Of all those who were present in the room, Hiccup was the most stunned. He'd known that something was up with Snivels, but he hadn't guessed anything like _that_ would come bursting out of the Servine's mouth. He cautiously glanced at Astrid, who was glaring hard enough to melt through a wall of steel ten inches thick.

"Well," Blaze said, uncharacteristically nervous, "That was...interesting."

The front door suddenly burst open, revealing a wild-eyed Crackers standing in the doorway.

"Something's going on in the village plaza!" the young Sobble said, his voice mirroring his own shock and fear.

Hiccup sighed. He'd have to fix the problem with Snivels and Astrid later.

* * *

 **Me: All I can say is: bam.**

 ***Snivels doesn't say anything***

 **Crackers: Why is he not talking?**

 **Blaze: You don't want to know.**

 ** ***Snivels still doesn't say anything*****

 **Ninjark: His silent treatment is making me nervous.**

 **Blaze: He'd better start talking again before the next chapter...**


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36: True Colors

 ***Snivels still doesn't talk***

 **Blaze: Oh, you've got to be kidding me!**

 **Me: Really, I'm the only person who can make him talk.**

 **Blaze: Well, then make him talk!**

 **Me: Okay, okay! Gotta think quick, Caitlyn, uh...**

 **Snivels: I'm not talking to any of you guys!**

 **Ninjark: ...Well, at least he said something.**

 **Amber: I just hope he acts more like the Snivels I love soon...**

 **Me: Well, there's only one way to find out, right?**

* * *

It really wasn't a surprise to the Go-Getters when they saw the greedy, trouble-making Snotlout standing out in the open with a massive crowd gathered in front of him. What was surprising was that he'd gotten his hands on a few Changewing eggs and was selling them out as Stones of Good Fortune. He'd already made a great deal of profit, set aside were barrels of goods along with a handful of livestock animals. Standing right beside the wannabe money maker was Gustav Larson, a young Viking who looked about ten years old, give or take, and his Pokémon partner: a round, red Fire-type called Darumaka.

The Go-Getters waited until the crowd had dispersed before approaching their selfish rival.

"Snotlout, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked, a small hint of panic evident in his voice.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" was the Jorgenson's reply, "I'm getting rich!"

"By selling dragon eggs you stole from their acid-spitting mothers, who will most likely fly all the way out here to corrode you into the ground?" Blaze asked, her wrists nearly ready to produce her species' trademark tuft of fire.

But Snotlout didn't pay any attention do what she said. "Puh-lease. They're bringing _me_ good luck! I'm up to my neck in weapons and livestock."

"What neck?" Astrid muttered under her breath. That made Heather chuckle.

"Snotlout, those are dragon eggs," Hiccup said warningly, "Changewings, to be exact."

Snotlout just scoffed. "I don't care what they are! Heck, I don't even _know_ what they are! All I know is this - I'm rich, and you're not." He leaned against a nearby yak with a smug look on his face Astrid could have really punched off if they weren't in a public area.

"We're rich, and you're not," Gustav parroted, leaning casually against a nearby sheep.

Choosing to ignore the Larson boy, Hiccup tried once again to warn the gloating Jorgenson.

"Snotlout, listen to me. We need to get those eggs off of Berk before something _really bad_ happens! Trust me, you do not want to keep an egg separated from its mother - especially a mother you can't see that shoots acid."

"Really?" said Snotlout, "You guys did."

It was safe to say that a few of them had been expecting that accusation. "The mother dragon was killed in a storm," Hiccup said, "Snivels brought it back because he knew it wouldn't survive out there."

Snotlout just snorted "Yeah, who cares? They're gone, and I have a no-return policy. Tell them, Gustav."

"No returns!" he repeated.

That earned both of them a large number of glares.

Snotlout took this as his cue to leave. "If you want them, you'll have to take it up with my customers."

Then he was gone, whistling a horribly off-key tune as he towed his piles of merchandise away with Gustav and Darumaka at his heels.

When they left, the Go-Getters switched from confrontation to problem-assessing.

"Guys, we need to get those eggs off of Berk," Hiccup said.

"How?" Heather asked, "We don't know where to find them."

Hiccup averted his gaze to the wild forest of Raven Point.

"But Snivels might."

He turned back to face his friends.

"We need to find him."

* * *

At this point, Snivels was far beyond the typical forests of Raven Point. He ended up running away until he reached the hidden cave that housed the Chimeragons, Bahamut and Tiamat. He figured that they'd be smart enough to understand his jealousy and frustration.

"Here I am, possibly the most important member of the team, hiding in a cave all because my trainer isn't paying attention to me! I mean, I get it, he's getting married, he and his fiancée are trying to finalize all the arrangements, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't show any consideration to his best friend! Okay, Toothless is also his best friend, but that's beside the point!"

Tiamat just lifted her head and stared at him.

"Hiccup wouldn't even be getting married if it wasn't for me! Do you have any idea how often I had to give him a pep talk before the final battle on Dragon Island? He doubted himself more often than I have ever preened myself! And I'll have you know, I preen myself very often! He needed someone to love him for who he was, and not just romantically, but brotherly as well. He needed a family, a _real_ family, not Mr. I-Hate-My-Son-And-That's-Why-He-Can't-Leave-The-House! And yet, here I am, rambling on about this stuff to someone who can't talk back to me and tell me to shut up and stop rambling!"

After that, Snivels got surprisingly calmer. After a few deep breaths, he turned to look at Tiamat and the slumbering Bahamut. "So...have you ever thought about having a family?"

Tiamat just stared at him.

Snivels sighed and sat down. "This would probably go better if I was talking to someone who can actually talk back, but really, having a family gives you one more thing to fight for. It gives you strength, you know? There's nothing I know that's stronger than love and friendship."

Tiamat rolled her eyes and laid her head down.

Snivels sighed. "Great. Hybrid dragon pity. I understand that you guys aren't exactly familiar with everything in the outside world, but your species is smarter than most other animals."

By this time, Tiamat was fast asleep.

Snivels sighed again. "Great, I'm talking to a sleeping Chimeragon."

" _Not necessarily._ "

Snivels looked around for the source of the sudden voice.

"Who said that?"

" _I did._ "

Snivels rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but where are you?"

The mysterious voice chuckled.

" _You won't be able to find me where you are. My name is Nova, and I am a Mew. I work with the Resistance._ "

It took a minute for Snivels to realize the voice was coming from inside his head. "I'm losing it."

" _No, you're not,_ " Nova said, " _Powerful Psychic-Type Pokémon can speak to others through their minds._ "

Snivels quickly considered this new fact. "So...thought-speak, huh?"

Nova chuckled. " _Yes, exactly. If I want to say something, I can direct my thought-speak to you._ "

"Okay, so why are you talking to me now?" Snivels asked.

" _There are things you need to know,_ " Nova said, " _Your trainer needs you._ "

Snivels looked doubtful, hoping that Nova was able to sense how he felt.

Nova sighed. " _I may not understand what you're going through, but I can sense how you are feeling. You are afraid your trainer will pay more attention to his significant other, and forget about you. Is that it?_ "

Snivels nodded hesitantly.

" _You have nothing to worry about,_ " Nova said, " _There is no doubt Hiccup is grateful for all you've done to help him._ "

Snivels shook his head. "I couldn't just stand by and watch. I never would've forgiven myself."

" _Because that isn't the type of Pokémon you are._ "

Snivels knew she was right. All his life, he'd been looking out for others who needed someone to help them with whatever it was they were going through.

"Hiccup needed a friend," he said, mostly to himself, "So I decided to be one to him. But I guess I became a part of his family before I even realized it."

" _Family isn't always by blood,_ " Nova said, " _You know that as well as any of us Legendaries. You've raised Spike, Terrorspin and Glory as though they were your own children._ "

"But I never got to thank Hiccup for taking me in," Snivels said, "He's like the brother I never had."

" _And he needs you,_ " Nova said, " _Go home to your family, Snivels._ "

That was all the Servine needed to hear.

* * *

Team Go-Getters had covered nearly the entire island, but there was still no sign of Snivels. They had even checked some of the same places more than once. And yet, there was no sign of their Servine friend.

Hiccup couldn't have been more worried. Given how much distance Snivels could cover if he was running his fastest, chances were he could have been absolutely anywhere.

Finally, after covering just about every square inch of the island, Hiccup gave up. Toothless crooned sadly as he landed in the middle of the dragons' meadow and watched his rider dismount and sit down on a nearby rock.

Never since the day he first met Snivels did Hiccup feel so alone. The Pokémon that had helped him figure out who he really was had run away in anger.

And it was all his fault.

Because he'd been stupid enough to pay more attention to the girl he was marrying rather than his very first true friend. It was true, he loved Astrid, genuinely so, but without Snivels at his side, he was nothing.

Useless.

Toothless crooned as he approached his rider, nudging him gently. But Hiccup shrugged it off. "Sorry, bud, I just need some time, okay?"

Toothless looked crushed by his friend seemingly rejecting his comfort, but he understood quickly. Turning away, he trudged off sadly with his tail tucked between his legs.

After about a minute of sitting alone, Hiccup heard the sound of swishing grass, indicating that someone was heading his way. He sighed, "Toothless, I need to be alone right now."

"Guess again, Hic."

Hiccup's eyes snapped wide open. He knew that voice. He quickly turned around to see Snivels standing a few feet away with an apologetic look on his face. Hiccup shut his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again, expecting his partner to be gone like the vision he was afraid it was. But the Servine was still there. All the appalled Trainer of Destiny could stutter out was, "You came back?"

Snivels shrugged. "Hey, what good is a true friend if he's not there when you need him?"

A second later, the Prince of Pokémon was pinned to the ground by an overjoyed Toothless, who proceeded to shower him in friendly licks. Snivels laughed as he tried to push the excited Night Fury off.

Hiccup stood up off the rock and helped his friend get up out from under their dragon companion. "Snivels, I'm sorry. If I hadn't been spending more time with Astrid than with you, I would have been a better friend. It's my fault you ran off. But I need your help."

Snivels smiled at his trainer. "Yeah, I know. I could smell what was happening from quite a ways."

Hiccup looked worried. "Is that the reason you can back? Because you knew there was trouble?"

Snivels shook his head. "No, I just needed some time to cool off and talk to someone. Speaking of which, I kinda met a new friend who talked some sense into me. I came back because my family needed me."

That last sentence earned him a smile from his trainer and a friendly nuzzle from the dragon.

"Snivsie?"

Hesitating at first, Snivels turned to see Amber standing a few feet away, clutching her claws nervously. She had seen Hiccup and Toothless land from afar, and had gone to see if something had happened. Now she was afraid that her eyes were deceiving her and that her beloved mate would disappear as soon as she went to touch him. But her fears vanished as Snivels ran over and hugged her wholeheartedly.

"Amber, I missed you, so much."

Said Charmeleon returned the embrace immediately after that.

"I missed you, too."

She pulled away and looked her mate in the eye. "Please promise you won't run away like that again."

Snivels smiled at her. "Promise."

No sooner after that, Toothless's ears suddenly perked up and he growled. Snivels looked back at the Night Fury and sniffed the air.

"Changewings."

* * *

It wasn't that hard to figure out who'd be stupid enough to buy a dragon egg being passed off as a Stone of Good Fortune. What was hard was figuring out where the Thorston twins had gone off to.

Lucky Snivels had an enhanced sense of smell.

With his help, Hiccup and Toothless arrived just in time to save Tuffnut from falling into a pit of live Fireworms. Shortly after the male Thorston was placed on the ground again, Snivels used his Solar Beam to signal the others of their location.

"Guys," Hiccup started to explain, at the same time landing and dismounting his dragon, "That's not a good-luck stone, it's a dragon egg. And its mother is a dangerous dragon that blends in with its surroundings and shoots acid while destroying everything in its path."

Snivels shuddered a little. "I'm kinda glad Glory's not around to hear that."

Of course, the twins exchanged dubious looks. They both opened their mouths, but a loud cry interrupted them before they could get a single word out. A minute later, Palus and Captain came running out of the nearby forest screaming at the top of their lungs.

Before anyone could ask, a spurt of purple liquid suddenly shot out, just missing the spot where the Thorston twins were standing. Three Dragalge emerged from between the trees, shooting their Toxic attacks. Apparently the sea-dwelling Dragon and Poison-Type Pokémon were capable of moving on land as well, as they hopped along firing Dragon Pulse, Hydro Pump and Sludge Bomb at the two dimwits that were holding the egg of one of their colleagues.

Unbeknownst to the small group, three Changewings were camouflaged against the trees, watching as their partners caused panic while they waited for the right time to swoop in and take back the stolen egg.

It seemed like hours of dodging the Dragalge's attacks before the rest of Team Go-Getters arrived to help keep them at bay. But one particular person wasn't happy to find that Snivels had joined in the action.

"What's _he_ doing here?!"

Hiccup visibly flinched at the sudden objection of his bride-to-be.

Snivels, on the other hand, was a little less jumpy. "You really want to talk about this now?"

Astrid just scoffed and started shouting commands to Blaze and her other Pokémon. But the Dragalge's attacks were too strong for most of the Pokémon to counter with their own moves. Despite being witnesses to a losing battle, Tuffnut and Ruffnut kept a strong hold on the Changewing egg they had bought from a conning Snotlout that morning.

"Guys," Hiccup muttered urgently, "Give them the egg..."

But the twins were surrounded by three angry Changewing mothers before either of them had the chance to move or respond. It was nearly impossible to see an animal that was practically invisible sneaking up on you, after all.

But even in a situation like this, Tuff and Ruff still had stupidity to spare.

"Ha, nice try," the male Thorston snorted, "As you can see, though, I am holding the Stone of..."

Of course, being the idiot he was, he held up the egg for all to see, leaving a wide open opportunity for one Changewing to snatch it out of his grasp. And it did so before he had the chance to even finish his sentence. Tuffnut looked at where the egg used to be. "Where'd it go?"

Not missing a single beat, the mother Changewing flew off with her recently recovered egg. The two other Changewings called for the Dragalge, who instantly stopped attacking and went to follow their colleagues, and pretty soon, the clearing was completely quiet.

Except for a quiet cracking sound that was slowly getting louder.

The Dragalge's Poison-type attacks had weakened the cliff Tuffnut had jumped off of earlier. The land corroded and collapsed, most of the debris falling into the Fireworm pit. Before anyone could react, a large chunk suddenly broke off, nearly taking an unfortunate Astrid with it.

And I say "nearly" because Snivels saved her at the very last second.

She had been falling straight for the Fireworm pit directly bellow, Hiccup shouting her name in fear, when the quick-thinking and even quicker-acting Servine reached for one of his whips, muttering to himself, "Radius times the angle of rotation, taking into account wind velocity and humidity...!"

Maybe it was skill or just plain luck, but as the whip lashed out, it caught Astrid's wrist, bringing an abrupt end to her fall.

Until Snivels started slipping.

Turns out, the weight of something that was bigger than him and being pulled down by the force of gravity was too much for him to hold up by himself. Sure, Snivels had managed to drag an unconscious Hiccup back home from Raven Point when he was still a Snivy, but Hiccup had already been on the ground then.

Snivels was nearly over the edge of the cliff when Hiccup grabbed his tail in an attempt to stop his friend from falling. But that only helped a little bit. Their slow descent only stopped when Blaze joined in, also grabbing Snivels's tail and holding on with all her Fighting-type strength.

But pulling them both back up with the cliff still falling apart, bit by bit, was going to be anything but easy.

Which is why Blaze glanced over at Heather and Ninjark, shouting, "Don't just stand there, help us!"

Snivels was too focused on the part of the whip that was wrapped around Astrid's wrist to listen to what was going on above him. If the whip gave out at any time, it was a one-way ticket to Burned by Fireworm-ville. Hoping to avoid such thoughts from entering either of their minds, Snivels greeted his soon-to-be trainer-in-law casually.

"Hey."

Astrid greeted him back in the same manner.

"Hey."

After some hesitation, Snivels spoke up again. "So...earlier I really lost it, and...um...I'm sorry."

Astrid sighed. "No, I deserved it. I've said and done a lot of things I'm not proud of. Especially to you and Hiccup."

"Maybe," Snivels replied, "But for the record, you had a point about Glory sneezing acid in the house. Besides, I also said some pretty offensive things back there. I was really frustrated that Hiccup was spending more time with you than with me, and with you yelling at me about keeping a baby Changewing, I guess I just sorta...snapped."

Granted, it may not have been the most ideal situation to talk about his recent troubles, but Snivels was, without a doubt, one to talk about anything that was on his mind. Especially if it was something that would help reason a different kind of problem, or even strengthen a relationship.

Astrid chuckled. "I know how that feels. And I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"Yeah, well, you're not the only person who's done that," Snivels said. After another moment of hesitation, he added, "So, we're good now?"

Those words brought Astrid back to the day she had been trapped under a boatload of snow with Hiccup, with their body heat being supposedly their only chance of staying alive. The way they'd held each other close had made her feel warmer, not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. She'd never admit it, but she didn't ever want to let go. Even today she was still frustrated that the awkwardness of the situation had forced them to pull apart.

Snapping herself back to reality, Astrid answered Snivels's question in a similar manner as she did that day. "Yeah. Good as new."

Snivels sighed in relief. "Great. 'Cause, for all our sakes, I really want us to get along."

Before anything else could be said, Snivels was suddenly jerked up over the cliff and was soon met by the concerned looks of the remaining four Heroes of Destiny. Keeping his hands on his whip, Snivels proceeded to help pull Astrid up. The Servine made sure to keep an eye on the whip in case it showed any signs of snapping in half.

Maybe it was luck, or the whip may have been stronger than everyone thought it was, but the rope-like tool stayed completely intact as they pulled Astrid up to safety. When the soon-to-be Haddock was on solid ground again, she embraced both Snivels and Hiccup tightly.

"You know, a simple thank you would do just nicely," the Servine prince stated carefully.

"I know," Astrid replied, "I'm feeling generous today."

Snivels knew better than to argue any further. So, he let her hug him. Along with Hiccup, of course.

Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by Heather.

"At least those dragons are gone."

Snivels pulled out of the double-hug at that. "No they're not," he said, "The Changewings and Dragalge worked as a team to save that one egg."

Tito stepped forward. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Snivels nodded. "Those dragons aren't going to leave until every last one of their eggs is safe."

"And they're going to tear Berk apart until they get them back," Hiccup finished, grimly.

* * *

As much as most of the Pokémon didn't want to, the Go-Getters regrouped and made for the chief's place of residence to relay the situation to him.

"So what you're telling me," the large man summarized (after he'd been brought up to speed, of course), "Is that our village is about to be under siege by wild dragons that we can't see."

"Yep," Snivels answered bluntly as he cradled Glory in his arms like a newborn baby.

"Might not want to forget the blasts of corrosive acid," Ninjark added.

Stoick didn't seem to bother looking at him, but he did acknowledge the information provided. "Well then, grab your dragons. We'll fight them off."

Hiccup sighed, "Dad, it's not going to be that easy. No matter what we do, they won't go away until they get what they want."

Stoick eyed the sleeping Glory in Snivels's arms. The Servine prince quickly caught the Viking chief's gaze.

"Not her," he said, hugging the Changewing dragonet close, "She's with us."

At that moment, Gobber rushed in, stopping to catch his breath as the door slammed behind him.

"Stoick!" the blacksmith said urgently, "I just realized something! It's not a Stone of Good Fortune! It's a Changewing egg! I'm always getting the two confused." He quickly regained his composure and casually asked the group, "So, what're you all up to?"

All that followed was a long, bewildered pause.

Blaze, who was still irritated with their encounter with Snotlout and Gustav earlier, looked like she was ready to kill someone. The look on her face said " _how could you not have realized that sooner?!_ "

Snivels caught Blaze's eye and, hoping to distract her from her own boiling temper (no pun intended), asked, "Anyone have any ideas?"

The only answer was a loud, hissing roar from outside.

The Go-Getters ran outside with all due speed. When they emerged from the chief's house, the first thing they saw were panicked villagers running for their lives. A few of the buildings had been sprayed with acid, with the wooden walls corroding fast.

Snivels gasped. "O...M...A."

Getting over his own state of shock, Hiccup quickly came up with a plan.

"Split up and find the eggs."

* * *

Elsewhere in the village, Bucket strolled along contentedly, unaware of the chaos that was unfolding. He carried his "Stone of Good Fortune" in his one remaining hand, humming a tune as he went about.

Then the Changewing appeared, dropping its camouflage and hissing its frustration at the previously oblivious Viking carrying its precious egg.

Even with half of his brain literally gone, Bucket wasn't dumb enough to stand still and wait to get attacked. He shrieked like a little girl and ran for his life. Of course, the Changewing flew after him, hissing all the way. Bucket looked over his shoulder for a split second before finding that his path was now blocked by the Changewing's Dragalge friend.

It was about that time Astrid and Blaze showed up on Stormfly and Wavern, respectively. The female Blaziken sighed.

"I think we're going to have to rescue him."

* * *

As Bucket found himself getting sucked into a sticky situation far beyond his understanding (or willingness), another villager found herself with her own Changewing and Dragalge-related problems.

Mrs. Larson - the woman who had been so desperate for good luck that she had offered to trade her own son for it - was leaving the Great Hall with a wheelbarrow carrying...precious cargo.

And the Changewing egg.

Heather and Ninjark caught the familiar glow from Windshear's back. Without waiting for her rider's command, the Razorwhip descended, landing at the top of the staircase.

"Mrs. Larson, we need that pearl!" Heather said desperately.

"Egg," Ninjark corrected.

"But my boy, Gustav!" the woman protested, "Snotlout said he had a no-return policy."

Spotting an approaching Dragalge out of the corner of her eye, Heather replied, "Snotlout didn't have the right to take him in the first place! We'll get Gustav back! Where's the egg?"

The egg's mother suddenly appeared before Mrs. Larson could answer. Finding an angry Changewing in front of her, and the Dragalge partner now behind her, she accidentally bumped into the unattended wheelbarrow. At first, nothing happened, but then the wheelbarrow slowly began tumbling down the steps, gradually picking up speed.

It wouldn't have been that bad if there hadn't been a human baby in the wheelbarrow along with the Changewing egg.

But there was.

At the sound of the infant's wailing, Windshear lifted off, again without waiting for a command from her rider. They didn't have to worry about catching the wheelbarrow, but they did need to figure out how to get the Changewing egg out of it before the angry mother did harm to the little infant human swaddled in blankets. Just as Windshear grabbed a mouthful of blankets, Ninjark reached for his frubbles, throwing a handful at the Changewing egg, causing it to fly out of the wheelbarrow and into the gentle jaws of its mother.

Heather sighed in relief as the Changewing flew off with the egg in its teeth and its Dragalge friend on its back. Windshear turned around and gently placed the swaddled baby in Mrs. Larson's arms.

"Thank you," the teary-eyed mother said gratefully.

Heather just smiled. She secretly hoped any children she might have in the future didn't look as that one did.

* * *

Berk was a small village, but that didn't mean there wasn't a large crowd of panicked Vikings trying to board the ships. By the time the entirety of Team Go-Getters met on the cliffs overlooking the docks, nearly the entire village of Berk was there trying to evacuate to safety.

Hiccup was almost afraid to ask how things had gone. "Status?"

"We got them all," Astrid replied, "There was a close call with Bucket, but we got the egg off of him. Heather and Ninjark found the egg that Mrs. Larson had. The Changewings and Dragalge should be all gone."

"Then how do you explain that?" Kickin' Hawk asked.

Several pairs of eyes followed the Hawlucha's clawed finger all the way to the top of the cliff on which the walkway connecting the village and the docks was built into. Squatting on the walkway were not one, not three, but _four_ angry Changewings. And behind them was an equal number of Dragalge.

The leader Changewing hissed and roared in frustration. She and her Dragalge friend glared down at the largest ship. They looked as thought they wanted to attack, but knew they couldn't with all of the Vikings nearby.

"They're going for the ship," Crackers whispered.

Blaze shook her head. "It's not the ship they want," she told them, "It's what's on it."

Snivels's eyes lit up with realization. "Another egg!"

All at the same time, the Go-Getters saw Snotlout, Heat, Gustav and Darumaka on the ship, the two humans chatting nonchalantly amongst themselves. Of course, it was just like the selfish and greedy Jorgenson to smuggle a "Stone of Good Fortune" away for himself.

Both Snivels and Folnir were glaring down at the snobby and arrogant teen. As much as the Yveltal wanted to turn Snotlout into a stone statue with his Oblivion Wing, he knew deep down that it wasn't the right thing to do.

So Snivels took action instead.

Pushing Astrid and Blaze aside, he made his way down toward the docks.

"Where are you going?" Hiccup asked.

Snivels looked back at his trainer and surrogate brother. "To do something I should have done a long time ago!"

As he neared the docks, Snivels noticed the Changewings and Dragalge watching him suspiciously. Quickly getting an idea, he called out, "Nova, can you hear me?"

" _Yes, Snivels._ "

"I need you to thought-speak to those Changewings," said the Servine prince, "Tell them I'm going to get their egg."

Nova hesitated. " _Well...I can try._ "

That was the last he heard from the thought-speaking Mew that day.

But he had more important things to deal with at that time. And it started when he reached Snotlout, who was relaxing carelessly on the ship the Changewings and Dragalge were glaring at.

"Going somewhere, Snotface?"

Snotlout didn't dare look startled. "Who's asking?"

"Yeah, who's asking?" Gustav parroted.

When they turned around, they found a very serious and irritated-looking Snivels glaring at them. Both humans relaxed, there was nothing for them to worry about. It was only the leaf-tailed snake who'd never heard of shutting up.

"Gustav, go find your mother," Snivels ordered, "She wants you back."

Gustav didn't move. He liked hanging out with Snotlout. But he relented when he saw his Darumaka trotting off in the direction of the Larson house. It was clear the Zen Charm Pokémon was looking forward to getting back home.

Predictably, Snotlout was very ticked. "I can't believe you! I was starting to like that kid! But you had to come over and tell that partner of his to...!"

"Give me the egg, Snotlout," Snivels demanded, grimly.

Said Jorgenson tried to look casual. "I don't know _what_ you're talking about."

"The Changewing egg," Snivels said with a snarl, "Where is it?!"

"Find it yourself, you stupid snake!"

Snivels's glare probably turned up to eleven at that last comment. "No!"

Snotlout's slow and idiotic brain took a minute to understand the Servine's response. "What?! No one ever talks like that to me and gets away with it!"

To emphasize his point, he gestured to Heat, who lifted a fist and clenched it tightly. Clearly it was the Magmar's way of threatening to launch a Fire Punch.

Snivels didn't even flinch. "I said NO! I don't take orders from you, Bow-Down-to-Me-'Cause-I'm-The-Best-at-Everything! No Viking gives commands to the Prince of Pokémon! NOT ANYMORE!"

Snotlout and Heat just stared as the Servine ranted on.

"You can tease us, make fun of us, mock our incredible dragon and Pokémon knowledge, but you cannot keep a baby dragon apart from its mother!"

Heat took a rather large step backward, hanging his trainer completely out to dry.

"I am sick of you bragging about everything! Sick of you disrespecting your dragon! And I'm especially sick and tired of you using your arrogance to try and get WHATEVER THE HECK YOU WANT! What you're doing is absolutely disgusting! Does your mother know you act like this?!"

Eyes wide in shock and horror, Snotlout pathetically squeaked, "Please don't tell her."

Snivels promptly turned around, giving the Jorgenson boy a good view of his back. "You'll be lucky to get through tomorrow morning after all the trouble you've caused, Snotface Jorgenstink, and don't expect us to even try coming to your rescue! It's time you finally got it through that ridiculously thick skull of yours that the Jorgenson way comes with a price, and it's not the kind you're gonna like!"

With that, the Servine strutted to the other side of the ship, reached into a basket and pulled out the Changewing egg that had been hidden inside. Finally satisfied, Snivels left the ship with his tail held up as he passed a still-shocked Snotlout.

The Prince of Pokémon didn't stop until he reached the top of the cliffs where the Changewings and Dragalge were waiting. It seemed that Nova's message had reached them successfully. He held out the recovered egg proudly. "I think this belongs to you," he said.

Keeping a suspicious eye on Snivels, the lead Changewing - who Snivels recognized as the one from the night before - leaned in and grabbed her precious egg in her jaws gently. Satisfied at last, she gestured for her Dragalge friend to hop on her back before spreading her wings and taking off. The remaining three Changewings and Dragalge followed suite, finally leaving the island of Berk behind them.

Snivels gave the acid-spitting dragons one last smile before rejoining his friends. All of them wore matching looks of bewilderment and shock.

"I have never seen anything like that before," Hiccup muttered under his breath.

"I never thought I'd says this," Astrid said, "But I'm proud of you, Snivels."

Snivels chuckled. "I learned from the best, Ast."

His attitude quickly changed from self-pride to panicked as he realized something was wrong.

"Where's Glory?"

With all of the panic and rushing to recover the stolen eggs, he'd completely forgotten about his adopted daughter. Thrown into a parental panic, he rushed into the village plaza, looking everywhere he could possibly think of, calling out in desperation.

"Glory? Glory! Where are you? Oh...! Answer me, Glory! Oh, where are you?!"

His answer was a small squeak from by the stables. Turning around frantically, he spotted the baby Changewing he had been so desperate to find.

"GLORY!"

Within seconds, the dragonet was in his arms as the two met each other halfway in their reunion. Teary-eyed and sniffling, Snivels nuzzled Glory, who licked his cheek several times in response.

Hiccup, Amber, Folnir and Crackers were the first ones to arrive on the scene as Snivels cuddled the Changewing dragonet close.

"My beautiful baby girl..." Snivels muttered as a few tears leaked out of his eyes.

Crackers looked worried. "Snivels, why are you crying?"

Snivels sniffled a little before replying. "It's okay to cry when you're so happy."

When the others arrived, the Go-Getters all took turns hugging Glory, nuzzling her scaly cheeks and stroking her back gently. But Snivels and Amber were the ones who showed her the most affection, showering her with hugs and kisses like any loving parents would do.

Finally, it looked as though everything would be alright.

* * *

Snotlout ended up getting his Thawfest punishment extended for the remainder of the year for all the trouble he had caused. Of course, that made him really mad at Snivels, even though it wasn't the Servine's fault at all. However, the Go-Getters were all too busy laughing at the name "Snotface Jorgenstink" to actually pay attention to what their offender was yelling and complaining about.

The Prince of Pokémon was back home with Amber, feeding Glory and Terrorspin their breakfast. He was due for a Book of Dragons editing session with Hiccup, and this time his trainer was going to be there.

Amber smiled as she watched her adopted son and daughter eat the salmon and cod eagerly. "Kids. They grow up so fast."

"But dragons grow up faster," Snivels added.

Amber looked at him. "Didn't you say you were going to edit the Book of Dragons with Hiccup?" she asked.

"I'd be interested in reading that book," Crackers said before stuffing a few crackers into his mouth.

Snivels chuckled at his Sobble friend. "You're welcome to come and join us, Crackers. Just try not to eat all the snacks, okay?"

Crackers just shrugged and said nothing more.

Snivels turned back to Amber. "Think you can watch Terry and Glory while we're gone?"

Amber smiled and kissed him. "You know I can."

With that, Snivels left the house with Crackers following, a bag full of the snack he'd been named after balanced carefully on his back.

* * *

Hiccup was busy searching the pages of the Book of Dragons to see if there was any space for him and Snivels to add new information about the creatures they we so equally fascinated with. Astrid was there with him, of course, because, why not?

Hiccup sighed. "It's taking a little longer for Snivels to get here than I thought. I think I'm starting to understand how he felt when I failed to show up all those times."

"You don't have to keep beating yourself up about it," Astrid said, "We both know it was also partly my fault."

Hiccup breathed a laugh. "I could never blame you for anything, Astrid. You know I love you."

Astrid snorted. "You tell me every day, how could I forget?"

Then came the usual punch to the arm.

Hiccup opened his mouth to complain, but was cut off by a kiss from his fiancée. He was only given a split second to catch his breath before she dragged him into another kiss, one that he wholeheartedly returned.

* * *

Hiccup studied the Changewing drawing carefully. He had to admit that whoever had done the sketch was lucky to avoid being melted into a puddle of smoking skin and whatnot from the dragon's acid.

Hoping to distract himself from the disturbing mental image, he asked the Servine sitting next to him, "You're sure you're okay with me spending time with Astrid after this?"

"Absolutely," Snivels replied, "Besides, I know you two aren't together all the time." He scooted closer to turn the page of the book.

Hiccup scratched the back of his neck nervously (for what reason, he wasn't sure). "So...listen, I've been meaning to talk to you about the wedding, and how I still need to pick out a best man."

Snivels quickly figured out where this was headed. "You want me to be the best man, don't you?"

Hiccup looked surprised. "How did you know...?"

"Folnir and Kickin' Hawk have been talking to me about the wedding, too," Snivels explained, "And it would be a great honor for me to be your best man."

It was a nice moment between the two friends until it was ruined by a certain Sobble asking, "Does anyone else want these crackers?"

* * *

 _Strength can be shown in many different ways._

 _Whether it's saving a baby dragon, helping a special friend, or giving someone the attention and gratitude they so richly deserve._

* * *

 **Me: Well, it's been many months since the last update, but at least I finished this one!**

 **Snivels: You know, I was really starting to get tired of being mad!**

 **Blaze: Someone hold me down before I kill the writer!**

 **Ninjark: I'm just glad the chapter's out.**

 **Me: I'd love to see Cottonmouth leave us a review.**

 **Amber: And other readers who liked this chapter.**


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37: We Are Family

 **Snivels: Finally, the wedding episode!**

 **Blaze: Hold it, Brainiac, what's a How to Become a Trainer episode without some sort of conflict?**

 **Snivels: Oh, come on! A lot of shippers have been waiting forever for this episode!**

 **Ninjark: Maybe it won't be that bad.**

 **Snivels: Arceus, I hope so.**

 **NOTE: When Stoick starts shouting, **** is put in place of a swear word.**

* * *

 _As Go-Getters, we have a strong sense of community. It's important for us to be part of a family and to celebrate that connection._

* * *

A week had passed since the night the Changewings and Dragalge attacked, a couple of weeks since the dangerous adventure on Outcast Island, and a few months since Hiccup proposed to Astrid. Even though all the events were still fresh in the minds of the Go-Getters, there were more important matters to deal with.

Bork Week had finally come.

For Vikings, it meant celebrating being part of a family. But for Team Go-Getters, it meant all that and more.

By the end of the week, Hiccup and Astrid would be married.

Sadly, the leader of Team Go-Getters was getting more and more nervous as the days passed.

"No offense, but you might want to stop pacing before you wear out a line in the ground."

Hiccup paused at the sound of his ace partner's suggestion. He'd gone out to the clearing where he and Astrid usually met, and for some reason Snivels and Folnir had decided to join him.

"Snivels, do you have any idea what could happen in the next few days?" he asked, his voice becoming more panicked as he kept talking. "If Astrid isn't ready for this, I might be forcing her to do something she'll regret for the rest of her life!"

Folnir spoke up from his place under a nearby tree. "Then perhaps you should ask her if she's okay with the arrangements." The Yveltal then popped an odd-looking berry into his mouth.

Hiccup calmed down a little. "Okay, but I can't just walk up and ask her out of the blue, she'll think I'm crazy!"

"Then start a conversation," Snivels said, "Give her a gift, tell her how you feel, hug her, kiss her, whatever you wanna do!"

Folnir swallowed the berry he was eating. "I believe what he's trying to say is that you should have more confidence in yourself regarding your soul mate."

Kickin' Hawk suddenly swooped in, having returned from gathering equipment necessary for traveling to the Ice Caves, where the wedding would take place. "I'll be glad when we finally get to leave this brute-infested island."

Snivels gave the Hawlucha a sympathetic look. "Stoick was swearing again?"

Kickin' Hawk scoffed. "That's an understatement! He trips over a small rock and he's yelling out every curse word in the dictionary!"

Folnir sighed. "Honestly, that excuse for a man is in no way worthy of raising a child, let alone a homunculus such as our leader."

Hiccup looked confused. "A homunculus?" He'd never heard that word before.

Kickin' Hawk pinched the bridge of his small, red beak. "Perfectly formed, miniature human being."

Hiccup's eyes instantly went wide with surprise.

Snivels chuckled. "Be glad your fiancée wasn't around to hear that."

Hiccup calmed down after that. "At least you guys tease me in a nice way." He approached Folnir and grabbed one of the berries, taking a bite out of it. After chewing a little, he spit it out. "You eat that? What is it?"

Folnir smiled and held a berry up to his eye level. "The Enigma Berry is very hard to find in this part of the archipelago. They're my favorite food, and, as the name implies, they have a very enigmatic taste. And they're a lethal poison to those who aren't Pokémon."

Hiccup, who had been trying to scrub his tongue off, gasped and ran over to the nearest stream of water to wash his mouth out. Folnir smiled with amusement as he watched his trainer leave the clearing in a panic.

Clearly, the last sentence he said was false.

* * *

Later, the entirety of Team Go-Getters met in the cove for their daily dragon lesson. Hiccup had given Snivels the honor of teaching the lesson, which was about dragon calls.

There was a loud roar-like sound as Snivels demonstrated his Dragon Whistle, the noise shattering the peaceful silence that had remained seconds before. Snivels then lowered the dragon-shaped whistle from his mouth and began the lecture.

"As you can see, the Dragon Whistle is capable of mimicking the cry of every dragon in existence. However, the model I use is meant for the more advanced dragonologist. Therefore, I took the liberty of creating a collection of beginner's Dragon Whistles designed to resemble your respective dragons. Anyone want to try theirs out first?"

True to the Servine's word, an array of Dragon Whistles that resembled all of the riders' dragons was laid out on a blanket on a foldable table in front of them. Hiccup went to grab his whistle, whispering to Snivels, "Please, try not to embarrass me in front of Astrid again."

Snivels looked confused. "What do you mean, again?"

Hiccup reluctantly answered, "Remember the lecture about dragon reproduction cycles?"

Snivels eyes instantly lit up with remembrance. "Oh, right! My bad."

Hiccup then grabbed the Dragon Whistle shaped like a Night Fury and blew into it.

"AOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!"

When the howl-like noise died down, Snivels added, "The whistles all produce the sound typically used by dragons when they want to call for help."

Blaze looked around. "So, where's Toothless?"

Snivels shrugged. "Be patient. He can't fly on his own, remember."

Hiccup was about to blow the Dragon Whistle again when a light growling sound got his attention. Glory and Terrorspin were crouched on the ground, staring intently at a random moss-covered rock in front of them.

"What are they doing?" asked Hiccup.

Ninjark chuckled a little. "This."

Now Hiccup saw what the Frogadier was doing. He had taken a flat, shiny disk from one of the pockets of Snivels's training vest and was holding it at an angle, allowing sunlight to reflect off of it and onto the rock that the Changewing and Whispering Death were so captivated by. Their eyes moved whenever Ninjark moved the disk, following the bright spot of light that had hypnotized them so.

Hiccup facepalmed. "...Seriously?"

"What?" Ninjark asked. "I just wanted to test it and see if it really worked."

He set the disc down, and Terrorspin suddenly gave his body a jolt, like he had suddenly been awoken from sleep. " _Gone again!_ "

Hiccup chose to ignore the frightening dragon's growls of complaint and instead raised the Night Fury-shaped Dragon Whistle again.

"AOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!"

Ten seconds later, Toothless arrived and bounded over to Hiccup, tackling him to the ground in excitement.

"Who wants to try it next?" Snivels asked.

His answer was Astrid grabbing the Deadly Nadder-shaped Dragon Whistle and blowing into it.

"SHAREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAK!"

Everyone had to cover their ears at the high-pitched noise that pierced the air. Snivels, however, wasn't all that shaken. "A little less force in the blow would have done just fine."

But there was no need to argue with results as Stormfly flew in with a small pack of wild Nadders and Flygon behind her.

Heather grabbed her own Dragon Whistle and examined its Razorwhip-like design. "Can I ask why we're doing this?"

"Well," Snivels explained, "You never know when you're going to get separated from your dragon, and the only way to communicate is to call it. It's also a good way to signal the rest of the team whenever you discover anything suspicious."

Hiccup was too busy examining the wild Nadders and Flygon to hear Snivels. As Stormfly and Dragonfly interacted with the pack, he unconsciously shifted his gaze to Toothless, who was sitting down beside him.

Alone.

No other Night Furies.

Hiccup sighed sadly at the obvious fact that Toothless was the only Night Fury on Berk.

And possibly the entire archipelago.

* * *

Hiccup was pacing again, this time on the main floor of their house. What was also different was that the upcoming wedding wasn't the only thing he was nervous about.

"Why do you always have to pace like that?" Snivels asked as he watched his trainer walk across the room over and over again. "I mean, sure, it is a form of exercise, but you're practically killing us here!"

"Does it have anything to do with you meeting with Astrid soon?" Folnir asked, swallowing one of the last few Enigma Berries he had since earlier that morning.

Hiccup sighed. "It's not just that. Toothless is the only Night Fury we've ever seen, and there isn't even any sign that there are more out there. It's like he's the only one left."

Blaze arrived through the front door as he said that last sentence. "Who's the only one left?"

Snivels approached the confused Blaziken. "Hiccup's upset because he thinks Toothless is the last of his kind. But I'm pretty sure he isn't."

That earned him a skeptical look from Blaze. "What in Arceus's name makes you say that?"

The Servine ran off, only to return seconds later with an unusually large sketchbook. "I've seen a lot of dark shapes throughout my time as a wild Pokémon, and I have reason to believe that they are other Night Furies." He opened the book to show rough sketches of dark figures that greatly resembled Night Furies.

Blaze, however, thought otherwise. Pointing at each of the drawings, she rapidly dismissed them as, "Swarm of bats, log, dolphin, Noivern, bear, Noivern, Jigglypuff seen from above, Noivern, Noivern, you aren't old enough to know what _that_ is, Noivern, Noivern, it's mostly Noivern."

Hiccup sighed. "Yeah, that's a real confidence booster." His voice was heavy with sarcasm.

"Before I forget the real reason I'm here," said Blaze, "Astrid's nearly ready to meet you out on the bluff."

Snivels quickly went to put his sketchbook away. "That also reminds me of something."

"Look, Snivs," Hiccup said nervously, "This is really something I have to deal with myself, I mean, I really appreciate you trying to help, but..."

He was cut off at the sight of Snivels holding an old bronze pendant on a chain. Judging by the pattern, it was obvious the object had previously belonged to a Viking. Snivels began explaining before Hiccup could ask what it was.

"I stumbled upon this a few days after the climactic finale of the Great Dragon War. Stoick was out, so Brumous told me what it was. He said it was the chief's betrothal gift to your mother. Since Stoick doesn't really have any more use for it, Brumous said I could have it if I wanted. So I kept it. And considering the conversation we had earlier before Folnir started messing around with you for fun, I would like to suggest you give this to Astrid as a gift."

Stunned by the Servine's sudden suggestion (and explanation), Hiccup grabbed the pendant and examined it. "Uh...thanks." He then headed out the door, calling for Toothless.

As soon as Hiccup was gone, Snivels shuddered. "It's no wonder that thing looks like it should be in a rubbish heap. What was Stoick thinking giving a Viking pendant to Valka?"

Kickin' Hawk chuckled. "I'm sure the almighty Arceus can help us remodel that old thing."

"About time, too," said Folnir after swallowing the last of the Enigma Berries. "Lucha and I were getting tired of looking at that excuse for a betrothal gift."

Kickin' Hawk instantly stiffened. "I told you never to call me that!"

Blaze shot her mate a confused look. "What's wrong with what he called you?"

Folnir smiled mischievously. "Lucha Toughshot is his real name. He hates it, so he started calling himself Kickin' Hawk after he joined the Resistance."

Now it was Snivels's turn to give the angry Hawlucha a confused look. "You never told me your real name was Lucha Toughshot. And you've been telling me everything about the Resistance and Fjord's prophecy!"

Kickin' Hawk sighed sharply and glared at Folnir.

"Oh, I'm gonna get a lot of mileage out of this one," Blaze said, her smile showing a hint of vicious pleasure.

* * *

Hiccup couldn't help but sigh in regret as he and Toothless lay down on the grass and looked up at the sky. Above the village, Pokémon and dragons were still hard at work putting up the last of the decorations up for Bork Week.

"I wish there were other Night Furies for you, bud," he lamented. "But you're the only one I've ever seen...for all I know, you're the last of your kind."

Toothless heard the sadness in his voice and walked over to curl around his rider, trying to make him feel better. It did raise Hiccup's spirits a bit, but only a little. He was still too worried.

"There you are!"

It was Astrid. She and Stormfly touched down, and she hopped off of the Deadly Nadder's back and ran to Hiccup's side. She was actually breathless with excitement. "Hey, I've been training my team for the trip!" she enthused. "I finally got their endurance up high enough to withstand the cold."

Normally, Hiccup would be be sharing in Astrid's happiness. But today, he was too troubled to care. Still, there was no way he could tell her that…

"Y-Yeah, wow!" he said instead. "That, that's _great_!"

Of course, his soon-to-be bride saw straight through him. "Hiccup…"

Defeated, he turned his head to look her in the eye. "I've just been thinking," he admitted. "Stormfly has other Nadders, Grave Robber has Scapula and their kids, Buck has practically every Grapple Grounder on Berk, and Toothless...Toothless has no one."

Astrid's smile faded. She did nothing for a second, but then reached out to Hiccup and gave him a quick, yet heartfelt hug in an attempt to cheer him up.

"He has _you_ ," she told him, with a small chuckle. "And he looks pretty happy if you ask me."

Indeed, Toothless was currently lying contentedly in the grass, soaking up the sun. He looked pretty much like the textbook definition of 'happy'.

Still, Hiccup wasn't convinced. "You know what I mean," he sighed.

"Hiccup, he'll be fine," Astrid reassured him. She planted a swift kiss on his cheek, then started to head back to where Stormfly stood. However, Hiccup laid his hand on her shoulder at the last second.

"Wait."

Astrid froze momentarily before turning to face her fiancé.

Hiccup sucked in a breath nervously. "There's something I need to talk to you about." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pendant Snivels had given him earlier.

"This was my father's betrothal gift to my mother. Snivels found it and suggested that I give it to you."

He held the pendant in one hand and held Astrid's with the other.

"Listen, if you don't want us to get married yet, we can reschedule for a later date. Maybe a few months, or even a few years. You've been training to be a shield maiden your whole life, and...and I don't want to hold you back. I'd never force you into anything you don't want, because I know the kind of person you are. If you don't think we're ready for this, then I...I won't push it. I don't want to be the person who stands between you and your dreams."

Astrid felt herself getting choked up, but she held back the tears that threatened to shed and hugged him. Hiccup nearly lost his footing, but he regained his composure and hugged her back.

"Hiccup, you were never holding me back. If anything, you've been helping me move forward. You're my best friend. I just wish I'd been one to you."

Hiccup gently pulled out of the embrace so he could look Astrid in the eye. "Astrid, you're more than just my friend. You're my family. You always have been, and...I hope you always will be."

Astrid smiled and pecked his lips. "I will."

Hiccup could have swore his heart skipped a beat. "So, you'll marry me?"

Astrid breathed a laugh. "Why else would I have said yes to your proposal?"

Hiccup smiled at that. He then remembered the pendant that was in his hand and held it up for her to see. "May I?"

Knowing what he was suggesting, Astrid nodded. She then bowed her head slightly, allowing Hiccup to hang the pendant around her neck. It might not have been the most eye-catching accessory, but it was in all ways meaningful.

"You look beautiful," Hiccup said with complete honesty.

Astrid would have blushed like mad if she was what everyone called a "girly girl." But she wasn't. So she just smiled. She then headed back to where Stormfly was waiting, and mounted her dragon.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Stoick and Gobber are looking for you. They're waiting in the Meade Hall...and they looked pretty serious."

She promptly took off, leaving Hiccup behind.

"That's great," he grumbled.

* * *

When Hiccup opened the door and found himself in a dark, spooky atmosphere with his father and Gobber with their respective Beartic and Probopass, he stopped in his tracks.

"Okay..." he murmured. "This is pretty weird..."

Hesitantly, he approached the table. The closer he got, the more clearly he saw his dad's intimidating expression, and the less he wanted to have anything to do with whatever business awaited him here.

"Hiccup," Stoick ordered. "Come forth, and hold out your hands."

His son did so, then swiftly hid them behind his back. "Uh, Dad?" he quavered. "I'd just like to say, in my own defense, that I cannot control Blaze and Kickin' Hawk's kids _or_ the dragonets twenty-four-seven."

There was a hearty laugh, breaking the tension. "This isn't about those young ones, Hiccup!" said Gobber. "It's something really good!"

Stoick huffed and smacked a hand to his forehead, exasperated that his right-hand man had gone and blown the surprise yet again.

"Now then, Hiccup," the Chief began, setting aside his frustration. "As you know, Bork Week has begun, the first one since we made peace with the dragons. It has been decided that, from this moment forward, all things dragon-related – including Bork's life's work – shall be entrusted to you and your friends."

Hiccup's eyes widened. Of all the things he could have expected from a "serious" meeting with his Viking Chief of a dad, this was perhaps the thing he expected the least.

Gobber reached down to his feet and lifted up a large, dusty chest, one that Hiccup hadn't even noticed was there. He set it down on the table in front of him and opened it, motioning their guest forward to take a closer look. When Hiccup rested his hands on the table, the blacksmith took out a large stack of papers and notebooks.

"This is where the Dragon Manuel started," he explained with much gusto. "Everything he ever wrote on the subject is in these notes! Personal thoughts, feelings, fears... even some delicious recipes!"

Saying that Hiccup was shocked would have been an understatement.

"I...I don't know what to say," he murmured, tentatively taking the books in his hands. "Thank you, Dad. I..."

He was cut off by the feeling of a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Son," said Stoick, "This is a big part of our history. You and the dragons are a big part of our future. It's now up to you to take care of both."

Hiccup wanted to tell Stoick that his affiliation was more with Team Go-Getters than the Viking tribe, but he decided to hold it off until a better time. Nodding hesitantly, Hiccup put the books back in the chest, and Gobber sealed it up. He took the chest and, looking like he was going to miss Bork's dragon notes and his job of keeping them safe, invitingly offered it to Hiccup.

However, it didn't seem as though Hiccup was strong enough to pry it out of the blacksmith's grip. Didn't he know that his former apprentice was significantly lacking in upper body strength?

But it turned out, Gobber was keeping a firm grip on the chest, still hesitant to let go of Bork's possessions.

Stoick noticed it, and snapped, "Gobber."

Said blacksmith at last allowed Hiccup to take the chest. Sniffing loudly, he choked out, "It's all yours now, lad."

The chest was actually a little heavy, now that Hiccup had gotten used to holding it. Curiously, he took a peek inside, and saw that he probably wouldn't need some of the other stuff that was being held in the box.

"Here," he said, holding something out. "You can keep the dragon-gutting dagger."

Holding the weapon close, Gobber looked like he was about to cry with joy.

And with that, the meeting was over. Bork's notes had been officially passed on to Team Go-Getters. Stoick only hoped that it would help his son train dragons, and that he would keep them safe for many more generations to come.

But what Hiccup didn't notice was that Snivels and Folnir were standing just outside the doors to the Great Hall, listening as Stoick suddenly banged his foot against a stray bench shortly after Hiccup left.

"OW! My **** foot! What **** genius put a **** bench in the **** path?! Can't you see I got a **** foot here?! Oh, ****!"

Snivels started counting off the number of swear words as Stoick shouted them out. "Five, six, seven..."

"**** a whole lotta ****, and with a side of ****, a heaping helping of **** and a boatload of ****!"

Folnir counted. "Nine..."

"Oh, ****! ****! ****! Son of a ****!"

Snivels gasped. "That's all thirteen of them! Kickin' Hawk was right."

Folnir smiled mischievously. "You mean Lucha Toughshot."

Snivels frowned. "Will you please stop rubbing that in on us?"

* * *

It was that time of day when the hard-working Go-Getters had finally shut the doors and windows to avoid being disturbed. Most likely, the entirety of the island populace had already conked out on their beds and were snoring away.

Hiccup, though, was far too involved in something else to fall asleep. He hadn't moved from the dinner table since he had first sat down. The candle that had been set out was almost completely melted, and he was still flipping through Bork's notes. The sketches, the footnotes, the recipes...all of it was simply enthralling.

"Toothless, look at all this!" whispered Hiccup, awed. "Bud, this is amazing. These are his personal notes. Everything he observed about dragons is right here."

Of course, all the Night Fury wanted to do was get to sleep. He turned over onto his back and grunted irritably.

Hiccup turned another page and turned the book sideways so he could see the drawings better, squinting for good measure. He wasn't very pleased at what he saw.

"Along with...some rather interesting sketches of his neighbors..." he muttered. "Am I glad Snivels wasn't here to see that..."

Making a disgusted sound at the back of his throat, he tossed the book aside. It opened in a way that left the back cover exposed, and there was a slight tearing sound, like peeling bark off a tree. It was only just loud enough for Hiccup to hear it in the utter quietness that had fallen over his house.

He squinted again. It looked like part of the back cover had peeled away from the other part, as if the two had been glued together in some way. But why would anyone bother giving a book cover two layers? It didn't make any logical sense...unless...

 _A secret compartment!_ Hiccup thought. He picked up the book and, ever so gently, peeled the layers apart. Just as he suspected, there was something inside – a small packet of papers.

For the second time that day, Hiccup was blown away by what he found.

"This...this is...This is all on the Night Fury!" he exclaimed, nearly dumbstruck. "It's all about you, bud!"

Again, Toothless couldn't care less.

"Bork didn't put any of this in the Dragon Manual!" Hiccup continued, eagerly shuffling through the papers.

Each page had something new on it. There were head sketches detailing how a Night Fury's ears flicked in and out...how the wings spread and could be tucked back over the body...even bits and pieces about the dragon's signature plasma blast.

But the information on the very last page was what Hiccup found most astonishing.

Voice hushed with awe, he read aloud, "'My studies lead me to conclude that an entire island exists teeming with mysterious Night Furies...I call this land the Isle of Night...'"

He put down the notes and raised his head, staring blankly at the wall. It was too much to take in all at once.

"An island _full_ of Night Furies!" he murmured.

That caught Toothless's attention. He got up off the floor and walked over, bending his head down as if reading the page that his human friend had put down. Naturally, he couldn't read it, but he sensed Hiccup's excitement and concluded that this was something very, very good.

"Toothless," Hiccup said, reaching out to stroke the dragon's muzzle, "We need to find that island. And if we do...we find your home."

The Night Fury warbled softly and butted his head into his rider's chest. Hiccup grinned.

"If we do," he repeated, "We find your family."

* * *

With Bork Week having begun, there was far too much to do that morning. Hiccup, obviously, had wanted to set out for this "Isle of Night" immediately, but he couldn't. First, he needed to inform the other Go-Getters of this shocking new development, go over Bork's notes with them, and come up with a plan.

But he couldn't do that right away, either. Snivels was having a problem with speaking. Whenever he stuttered out a word, his voice sounded very raspy and quiet.

"Guys..."

Hiccup looked worried. "Snivels, did you lose your voice?"

Snivels gulped audibly before responding. "Yes..."

Heather knelt down next to her former Pokémon partner. "What in the world caused this to happen?"

Kickin' Hawk looked inside Snivels's mouth, the look on his face serious and concentrated. He finally pulled back and faced a nervous Hiccup. "Laryngitis, it's a common infection that causes your vocal cords to swell up. Best thing he can do is stop talking and get plenty of rest."

Snivels gulped nervously. "When am I supposed to stop..."

"NOW!"

Kickin' Hawk's sudden shout shut him up right then and there. The Hawlucha then spoke more calmly. "This wasn't necessarily caused by anything Snivels did, the infection is very common. He really shouldn't be talking while his larynx is so inflamed."

Snivels sighed sadly. This was going to take some getting used to.

* * *

Moments later, Team Go-Getters was heading out to another part of the island, minus Snivels, Amber, Spike, Terrorspin, Glory and the Speed Stingers. The Servine was resting in Hiccup's bed while his mate and adopted family members stayed home with him to feed him the medicine Kickin' Hawk had made. The Hawlucha instructed them to feed him a spoonful three times a day in order to help him recover from his laryngitis.

Anyway, the remaining Go-Getters were heading to a place even farther from the village than Mildew's house (and the old dirtbag of a hermit lived pretty far away). The sun was beginning its descent toward the horizon, slowly turning the sky from blue to light orange.

"So let me get this straight," Heather said, her voice etched with confusion. "In order to find Bork's island, we need to find his cave?"

"It's his last known place of residence," Phoxie reasoned.

"Who would live in a cave?" asked Amber.

"Only a Viking," Blaze replied.

"There must be something in there about the Isle of Night and how we can find it," Hiccup told the others. "Bork's notes say his cave was cut into the mountains right above Odin's Shield."

The gang flew onwards for a few more minutes, occasionally swerving around the huge rocky cliffs and mountains that dominated this part of Berk. Eventually, though, they reached a particularly immense rock formation.

Odin's Shield.

"Right there! That's where we'll start looking," Hiccup called.

A quick tug on the saddle steered Toothless toward Odin's Shield, preparing to land on a nearby outcrop that led deeper into the mountains. The Night Fury fluttered his wings a little before landing, and the rest followed suit.

Once the rest of the dragons had landed, Roughneck raised his hand. "Wait, so, um, wait. How do we know what we're looking for?"

Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Astrid glared at the young, normal-colored Hawlucha. "It's a _cave_ , feather-head. Look for a big hole in the side of the mountain."

She and Blaze then moved to the front of the group, where Hiccup was already starting to lead his dragon deeper into the Odin's Shield formation. He glanced at his fiancée as she fell into step beside him.

"You know, we don't have to bring them _every_ time," she told him, referring to the younger Pokémon.

Hiccup was about to give her a reply, when all of a sudden, a horrible roar echoed across the peaks, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks. It sounded vaguely like someone was beating a Gronckle to death with a tree trunk.

When the roar ended, Batalla stood up straighter and gave everyone a smug smile. She had another one of the gang's Dragon Whistles in her hand. Hiccup sighed, he should have known that the female Hawlucha would be behind that. Even if she wasn't one of the main troublemakers in their group.

" _What_ in the _world_ was _that_?" Xylia asked, incredulous.

Ninjark cautiously informed his Grovyle girlfriend, "That, I think, was a Changewing call."

Folnir actually burst out laughing. "As if it actually _sounded_ like one. _This_ is a Changewing."

He took the Changewing-shaped Dragon Whistle into his claws, rotated it so that it was right-side up, and blew into it. "HRREEEEEEEEEE!" it screeched.

"Hmpf," Batalla grumped, folding her arms. She couldn't believe she had been holding the whistle upside-down like an idiot. "Bet you can't do a Thunderdrum."

" _Please_ ," Crackers stated. "Don't challenge him."

Too late.

Putting away the Changewing-shaped Dragon Whistle, Folnir reached into one of the saddlebags and pulled out another one. It was made in the shape of a Thunderdrum's head, complete with the fang-like teeth. He took a deep breath and, after pausing for effect, blew into the horn's mouthpiece.

The very realistic roar that came out of the other end of the Dragon Whistle wouldn't have normally been bad, but it went on for a painfully long time. It went on and on, and sounded a bit like a super-distorted and low-pitched version of a five-year-old screaming their head off.

Everyone covered their ears. "Folnir!" shouted Blaze.

"Stop it! Stop!" pleaded Astrid.

"You sound terrible!" Ninjark howled.

"Cut it out!" Champion demanded.

"OKAY, OKAY!" bellowed Hiccup, sounding almost like Stoick for a minute there. "Enough, Folnir, that's good."

At long last, Folnir lowered the Dragon Whistle and gave an excited sort of laugh an Yveltal could make.

The search for Bork's cave continued. The group spread out a little more, checking out every possible pathway that might lead to a cave. But it was Hiccup, of course, who ended up finding what they were searching for. After taking Toothless through a narrow pathway between two mountain peaks, the Trainer of Destiny emerged into the sunlight and immediately saw a massive canyon that practically split the mountains in half. On the other side of the canyon was a small, black hole gouged into the stone. Additionally, the sun was already beginning to set, and it cast an orange light that made the view even more breathtaking.

"Hey, I found an opening!" he excitedly called over his shoulder.

Soon, the rest of the group had joined him at the edge of the mighty gorge. A gusty breeze blew past, stirring each of the trainers' hair and making any loose clothing flap in the wind. The breeze filled them with a stimulating, bracing feeling that sent a refreshing quiver down their spines.

"Oh, that feels good," Amber sighed. "You like it too, don't you, guys?"

The Charmeleon frowned when no one answered her question.

"Huh," remarked Captain, who was peering across the canyon at the cave in the distance. "That Bork was a dweeb, but he could climb like a mountain goat."

About to respond, Hiccup flinched and squinted his eyes shut in a wince when he heard a terrible distorted growl echo across the mountains. "Guys," he warned, "I thought we agreed to ease up on the dragon calls."

"I don't think that came from one of us," Heather answered, slightly appalled.

The distant roar came again, a bit louder this time. Hiccup had to admit that he had been wrong, that couldn't have been a Dragon Whistle, because it was coming from too far away. But that meant there could only be one other thing that could be making that noise...

An ocean-colored shape suddenly flew out from behind one of the mountains, illuminated by the setting sun. Sharp teeth gleamed, and its scaly skin flashed in the fading sunlight. Another roar blasted out of its maw. It was an adult Thunderdrum, and it was headed straight for Team Go-Getters.

Astrid backed up a little. "I never thought I'd say this, but I kinda miss Snivels right now."

Hiccup stared wide-eyed at the wild dragon closing in on them.

"You and me both."

* * *

 **Me: That might have taken a bit longer than I hoped, but at least the chapter is finished now!**

 **Snivels: *opens mouth to speak***

 **Blaze: No talking!**

 **Snivels: *covers his mouth with his hands***

 **Amber: I hope he recovers soon...**

 **Ninjark: **I just can't believe Stoick said all those swear words!****

 **Folnir: Told you so.**

 **Me: Review, please!**


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38: The Isle of Night

 **Me: As much as I don't like the ending of this chapter, it has to get written for us to progress any further.**

 **Blaze: You better get Snivels talking again, soon!**

 **Amber: I agree with Blaze. It's not the same with him sick.**

 **Ninjark: Guys, take it easy on Caitlyn, will you?**

 **Blaze: Since when did you become the voice of reason?**

 **Ninjark: Well, Snivels is too sick to talk, so someone has to be!**

 **Me: Let's move on, shall we?**

* * *

As it turned out, throwing dragon calls around left and right wasn't a very good idea. Folnir, in an attempt to show the younger Pokémon how a proper call was done, had imitated a Thunderdrum's hideous scream at top volume – and now Team Go-Getters was going to have to deal with a real one!

The Thunderdrum flew awkwardly through the sky, its attention fixed on the humans and Pokémon below. Obviously, it had come to this spot hoping to find another one of its kind, but it could only smell a bunch of kids and their partners. Now that it realized it had been fooled, it was not pleased in the least.

"Head for the cave!" yelled Hiccup.

All at once, the dragons sprang into the air, dodging the Thunderdrum's bulk as it made a pass at them. They whooshed over the canyon in no time at all and stopped to hover in front of the cliff wall on the other side. They expected to find the opening to Bork's cave right in front of them – which was why they were so surprised when they didn't find it.

"Wait, where's the cave?" Heather asked with a panicked tone in her voice.

"We just saw it!" protested Astrid, wide-eyed. "There was a hole! There was clearly a hole!"

A distorted screech echoed off of the Odin's Shield formation, reminding Hiccup that they had some very unpleasant company to deal with. Drawing up a lightning-fast, yet undeniably crazy, plan, he called his orders to his friends. "You guys keep looking for the cave, I'll deal with the Thunderdrum."

While they started their search for the entrance to the cave, Hiccup and Toothless soared back up to challenge the Thunderdrum. Unfortunately, its eyes were locked on the Go-Getters that had just landed, picking them out as more helpless than the human riding the Night Fury.

Smog was the first to notice the situation between Hiccup and Toothless, and took off speeding towards the Thunderdrum.

As the semi-aquatic dragon slowed its descent and started chasing the annoying, distracting Smokebreath dragon, Hiccup quickly rallied the rest of Team Go-Getters.

"Do the Thunderdrum calls again!" he ordered.

Considering that their leader's last request was for them to stop making Thunderdrum calls, the younger Pokémon were a little miffed at the contrast. "I wish he'd make up his mind!" huffed Batalla.

Folnir didn't bother to show any hesitation as he took out the Thunderdrum-shaped Dragon Whistle. The Yveltal took in a breath and blew into the whistle with all his might.

Instantly, the Thunderdrum stopped chasing Smog when it heard what sounded like another of its kind. It made a clumsy U-turn and flashed toward the unguarded Yveltal, its mouth open in a snarl and letting loose with an answering scream.

Meanwhile, Astrid and Heather conducted their search for Bork's cave in an increasingly frustrated manner. They had nearly given up trying to figure out how an opening in a mountain could just suddenly disappear.

Blaze and Ninjark weren't having much luck either. The Blaziken commenced beating the wall of rock with her fists out of frustration. "It was right. Here. I swear it was."

Such was her frustration that neither she nor the Frogadier notice that a wild Changewing had turned off its invisibility, stretched out its head, and hissed fiercely at them. Both Pokémon simultaneously turned to look at the dragon's yellow eyes.

In seconds, they found themselves shoved over to the ground while Kickin' Hawk found himself grabbed by a pair of talons and lifted into the air by a pair of wings. The Changewing and the abducted Hawlucha flew up to the very top of the wall and landed there with elegance.

"I try to save my mate, and I get this?!" Kickin' Hawk shouted. "Put me down, now!" But his shouts had no effect on the sly dragon. The wild Changewing turned its snarling face back to its captive.

Kickin' Hawk sighed, "I don't have time for this!"

Hearing his Pokémon's cry, Hiccup steered Toothless in the direction of the mountain, but was suddenly cut off by the rogue Thunderdrum, who was still chasing after Folnir, who was firing Dark Pulse repeatedly in an attempt to draw the dragon back. It was in that moment Hiccup saw the exposed entrance to Bork's cave, which the Changewing had evidently been guarding.

It was a tough choice to make – save his friends and drive away the wild dragons first, or let the others do that while he snuck in? He and Toothless hovered in the air, paralyzed with indecision.

Suddenly, Astrid was there, hovering beside him. "Go see what you can find!" she called out, encouraging him. "Don't worry about us. We'll handle those overgrown lizards."

One of the lizards in question let out its horribly distorted scream as it continued to pursue Hiccup's Yveltal companion, as if reminding them that it was still there.

Still, Hiccup felt reluctant to leave. "What about Kickin' Hawk?"

"I can get myself out of this!" his voice rang out just then.

Hiccup saw the confidence in Astrid's eyes, and nodded his consent. He knew his friends well enough to know that they could take care of themselves for a few moments. Seeing that he approved, Astrid saluted him and steered Stormfly away, heading toward where the Thunderdrum and Folnir were flying around.

Before Hiccup left, though, he gave one last order. "Heather, Ninjark, see what you can do about that Changewing!"

"On it!" they chimed, and clambered across the cliffside to where Windshear was sitting.

"You're sending them to help the veteran Pokémon?!" wailed Palus.

"We're the ones who need help with wild dragons!" Xylia shouted, barely avoiding a Druddigon's Fire Punch. Evidently, the Cave Pokémon had just recently caught up with its rampaging Thunderdrum comrade.

"I'll be fine!" Kickin' Hawk stated loudly, "Just go help the others!"

Not long after Heather and Ninjark went to help out the group that was trying to deal with the Thunderdrum and Druddigon, a wild Dragalge arrived next to the Changewing. The captured Hawlucha was quite lucky the Mock Kelp Pokémon seemed as curious of him as the Changewing was.

He still needed to find a way out of the situation, though.

* * *

Inside the cave, darkness overtook Hiccup as Toothless flew with all speed into the welcoming coolness of the caverns. The sounds of the dragons outside grew fainter and fainter as they went deeper.

"Bork's cave! This is it!" exclaimed Hiccup. "We have to hurry, bud. We don't know how long the gang can hold off those wild dragons."

* * *

Back at Team Go-Getters' home, Snivels was resting in his trainer's bed, with Amber spoon-feeding him the medicine Kickin' Hawk had prescribed for his laryngitis. The medication was meant to combat the infection in his throat, but had a side effect of drowsiness. Spike, Terrorspin and Glory were all watching anxiously from across the room, while Lockheed was curled up in the corner for his noontime nap.

Snivels was about to fall asleep himself when remnants of a horrible stench reached his nose. And not just any stench, it was one he was familiar with.

Rotten chicken eggs sitting in spoiled yak milk for three days straight.

There was only one person in the archipelago that had that kind of scent.

Mildew.

Sitting up a little, Snivels scanned the room before his eyes landed on some of Bork's notes that Hiccup left behind in his haste to find the cave containing the map to the Isle of Night. The scent was coming from the sheets of notes. Realization dawned on the sick Servine prince as he tried to get out of bed, only to have Amber push him back down gently.

"Snivsie, you need to rest," she said, "It'll help you get better."

No! He couldn't rest now! He had to warn her! He had to warn Hiccup!

Too late.

He was already asleep.

* * *

Folnir, meanwhile, was having considerably more luck than Snivels was. Seeing that his Dark Pulse wasn't drawing off the Thunderdrum, he tried the more powerful Hyper Beam, only to set down on a sea stack as he panted heavily. After using a move like Hyper Beam, a Pokémon couldn't react right away, a fact that Folnir had briefly forgotten. He braced himself for impact as the angry Thunderdrum closed in on him.

Then, a Thunderdrum-like scream echoed through the canyon, prompting the dragon to skip the exposed Yveltal and head for the lip of the gorge. Perched there were Stormfly and Astrid, but not for long – the second she saw the Thunderdrum heading in her direction, the soon-to-be Haddock took her hands away from her mouth and pulled hard on the saddle.

Although she wasn't in possession of the right Dragon Whistle, Astrid had still managed to pull off a half-decent Thunderdrum impression just in time to save her fiancé's Yveltal's life. Thank Fjord for that, but now she was the one being chased.

"Thanks...!" Folnir half-called, half-gasped from the bottom of the canyon. "If we all survive...I owe you big time!"

Despite Stormfly's speed and Astrid's quick reflexes, the Thunderdrum still managed to stay on them as they flew in a manner that would have normally shaken an enemy off. Luckily, Blaze and Wavern joined them, doing their best to hinder and harass the Thunderdrum with Blaze's fire attacks and Wavern's talons.

Meanwhile, Kickin' Hawk was still being held captive by the curious Changewing and its equally curious Dragalge comrade. Right now, the Changewing had its tail wrapped around his leg and was dangling him in front of its face, trying to figure out what to do with him. Should it eat him? He didn't look particularly tasty...

An explosion from the battle between Heather, Ninjark and the wild Druddigon drew the two camouflaging dragons to an even higher pillar.

Kickin' Hawk sighed. "This is _not_ how I thought this day was gonna go!"

* * *

Toothless touched down on the cave floor, wings spread to their fullest span in order to keep his balance. As Hiccup hopped off of the Night Fury's back, he picked up a large stick that was lying there on the cave floor and began to investigate.

 _We've flown as far as we can go_ , Hiccup thought, _so this must be the deepest part of Bork's cave..._

Out loud, he murmured, "There's gotta be something here...I only wish there was more light in here..."

A draconic warble drew his attention. When he turned around, Toothless shot a quick bolt of blue fire at the stick he was carrying, succeeding in igniting the tip and turning it into a makeshift torch.

"Thanks, bud," said Hiccup, sparing the dragon a grateful smile.

Waving the torch around as he walked, Hiccup milled around the cave, trying to get light into every nook and cranny. He didn't know what he'd find in here, and for all he knew, it could be hidden anywhere. It was best to go slowly and shine his torch at one place at a time.

Finally, he did find something that was worth checking out. He saw it out of the corner of his eye as he passed by a cave wall, a flash of white amidst the dark grey stone.

"What is that?" he murmured, raising the burning branch to better examine it.

The red-orange light revealed that, indeed, there were white markings painted onto the cave wall. But they weren't simply random designs – no, there was a definite pattern to them. At the very top of the wall, near the ceiling, was a big 'X' and some lettering underneath it.

"...It's a map..." Hiccup realized. "A map to the Isle of Night! We did it, Toothless! Okay, I gotta get this down..."

The Night Fury let out a little roar of joy when he heard how excited his friend was, knowing that they had found some good news. Unfortunately, the next sound he heard indicated some less-than-good news.

At the end of the tunnel they had just come through, Toothless could faintly hear rocks crumbling. Then the cavern started to shake, and debris fell down from the ceiling as the tremors grew worse.

Even though he was distracted by the task at hand – copying the map on the wall into his notebook – Hiccup felt the shaking and the pebbles falling down almost immediately. His heart skipped a beat when he heard the sound of a cave-in from near the entrance.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, I need more time!" he begged.

Hurriedly, he continued to scribble down the designs on the wall. The tremors continued to build until it was like the mountain was being shaken from side to side, and Hiccup's torch, which he had propped against the wall to free his hands for his notebook and charcoal stick, fell to the floor and extinguished itself. But even as darkness blanketed Bork's cave once more, Hiccup drew in the final mark on the map.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, snapping his book shut. "Toothless, let's go! We have to get out of here!"

* * *

The Thunderdrum missed its mark again. Wavern twisted herself out of the way of the soundwave projectile that whizzed past. The soundwaves kept going until it smashed into the side of the mountain, causing rocks to tumble down over the cave entrance.

Astrid saw, and her heart leapt into her throat. "Hiccup's trapped!" she cried.

Her answer came from the near distance. It was Kickin' Hawk, still being dangled upside down by the Changewing's prehensile tail. The dragon had decided that the veteran Hawlucha made a good toy, and was using its tail to continuously move him up and down the side of the pillar like a yo-yo.

"No one ever mention this!" Kickin' Hawk called, "I'm taking this shame to my grave, you hear?!"

* * *

Another missed blast from the Thunderdrum outside caused another tremor in Bork's cave, one that was worse than the rest. It was followed by a huge crash that caused another quake, and the cavern instantly went from dim to pitch-black.

With a sinking feeling, Hiccup realized that the sudden loss of light could mean only one thing – the entrance had been blocked.

"This is great," he muttered to Toothless. "We're trapped, and you can't use your shots without bringing the ceiling down on our heads."

Toothless raised his head, sniffing loudly as if he was taking in the scent of the air around them. Hiccup felt a mighty gust of wind as Toothless flared out his wings. The Night Fury let out a roar that rebounded continuously around the cave until it grew unbearable enough to force Hiccup into covering his ears. Toothless's roar bounced off the walls so many times that it sounded like there was a whole pack of Night Furies in there with them. Hiccup yelped with surprise when Toothless grabbed him around the waist and threw him onto his back, and then started flying down a nearby tunnel. Somehow, Hiccup could tell that this passage wasn't the one that led back to the entrance.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the shocked Go-Getter yelled, desperately hanging onto the saddle to prevent being thrown off. "What're you doing?"

Toothless ignored him, and continued his blind flight through the tunnels of Bork's cave.

Which, or course, didn't make any sort of sense to Hiccup, who shouted, "Okay, where are you going...and how are you seeing?!"

To his frustration, the Night Fury still wouldn't give him even a hint. Another tremor rocked the cave, and rocks started to tumble down from the ceiling, filling up the passageway behind them. Wherever Toothless was headed so recklessly, there would be no going back.

And then Hiccup saw light.

They made it out of the tunnel and into the sunset right before the tunnel completely caved in. With a thrust of Toothless's wings, they were back in the air, looking over the outside of Odin's Shield and the surrounding mountains.

"Yes, we got out!" Hiccup whooped. "I don't know how, but I'm not going to look a gift dragon in the mouth..."

There was a sudden rush of wind as Astrid flew by. Relieved, she cried, "Hiccup, you made it!"

Bashfully, he rubbed the back of his head and responded, "Yeah, and please don't ask me how, because to be perfectly honest, I have no idea."

The Thunderdrum chose that moment to appear, bellowing loudly as it charged them. At the urging of their riders, Toothless and Stormfly avoided the semi-aquatic dragon.

"Should I help you drive that Thunderdrum away?" asked Hiccup, a mite awkwardly.

As he said that, Heather and Ninjark flew by on Windshear, whooping and laughing as they chased the Thunderdrum away.

"They've got it under control!" Astrid told him, smiling. "It's really the Pokémon that need help."

"Of course..." he muttered, and then he and Toothless left her and the others to deal with the remaining wild dragons.

They found Kickin' Hawk still in the clutches of the Changewing. However, instead of abusing him, the dragon was now cuddling him with its tail and nuzzling his face amiably. Needless to say, the veteran Hawlucha looked less than pleased.

Hiccup smiled. "Looks like you've made a friend."

"Be glad the Dragalge is rehydrating itself," Kickin' Hawk grumbled.

Toothless shot forward, stopping only a tail's distance away from the Changewing. The wild dragon finally let go of Kickin' Hawk took to the air and, after taking a second to screech angrily at Toothless, flew into the setting sun, narrowly dodging a plasma blast.

"Not another word about this," Kickin' Hawk said, sternly, " ** _Ever_**!"

* * *

After an eventful afternoon, it was high time Team Go-Getters went back to Berk. They turned their backs to Odin's Shield and flew away in their standard flight formation, all of them exhausted and ready for a good night's rest. On the way there, they chatted about how good of a team they had made back on the cliff – but not all the details were crystal clear.

"I still can't believe how you survived that cave-in," remarked Heather, looking over at Hiccup.

"Neither can I!" he replied, incredulously. "It was all Toothless, he...he sent out this weird sound, it bounced back toward us, and someone he used it to find his way out."

Captain spoke up, "I don't get it. How do you use sound to guide you?"

Amber came up with an answer immediately. "Zubat do it all the time," she said dismissively. "They can't see, so they use sound to find their way through caves and whatnot."

Keeping the Charmeleon's comment in mind, Astrid pulled a bit on her Deadly Nadder's saddle and edged closer to where Hiccup was flying. "So, did you get anything?" she asked. "Like, maybe a riddle or something, like when we went out to find Hamish's treasure?"

Smugly, Hiccup told her, "A map...to the Isle of Night!"

"Awesome!" Ninjark cheered. "When are we gonna leave?"

"First thing in the morning," replied Hiccup, his ecstasy obvious.

Looking down at Toothless, and reaching down to give the dragon a friendly pat on the head, he murmured, "Toothless, this time tomorrow, you're going to be up to your neck in Night Furies."

A happy growl emerged from Toothless's mouth, and he flapped his wings with excitement fueling his muscles.

* * *

Unfortunately for Hiccup, Snivels was still fast asleep when they all got home. Kickin' Hawk's medicine for him was definitely doing its job healing his swollen throat and keeping him well-rested.

Whereas the rest of Team Go-Getters had already gone to bed, Hiccup found himself still wide awake. There was no way he could lay down on his bed and relax when there was such a huge adventure awaiting him in the morning. Knowing that it was impossible to try and get to sleep, he spent his time at his desk, looking over Bork's notes and the map he had copied down.

It's really going to happen, he kept telling himself. We're really going to find more Night Furies. Toothless wasn't the last of his kind after all! He won't be the only Night Fury anymore!

He was thinking this for the umpteenth time when he suddenly found Astrid by his side.

"Try not to stay up too late, Dragon Boy."

Hiccup sighed. "It's just...well, we're finally gonna find more Night Furies. Toothless won't be the only one anymore, and..."

"I know," Astrid said gently, "I'd do the same for Stormfly. But you aren't alone in this, we're all right behind you."

Hiccup gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I know."

He noticed she was still wearing the pendant he'd given her. It reminded him of her devotion to him and her willingness to marry him.

"Astrid?"

"Yes, Hiccup?"

"Can I...may I...kiss you?"

Any other girl would have been taken aback by such a question. Good thing Astrid was tougher than most. "Sure. Just a little one, to prepare me for later."

It was merely a peck. It didn't even last a second. But they could both feel the love hidden behind it. Satisfied, Astrid went upstairs to bed.

Hiccup went to follow her when he came across something in Bork's notes that made him pause. His smile faded away when Hiccup took a closer look at the page in his hand and read it over again.

"There's a reason Night Furies live on the Isle of Night," he realized. Scrutinizing the words closely, he read, "Bork's notes say 'swarms of Night Furies can be extremely hostile to other species'."

He paused. "If the others come with me on their dragons..."

Well, it simply couldn't happen. The others would get chased away. No, Hiccup couldn't risk bringing the entire company with him. It was too dangerous.

"Well, it's just you and me then, bud..." he sighed.

Toothless looked up from his now-empty fish basket and warbled softly, tail swishing back and forth with excitement. Smiling at the Night Fury, Hiccup finished packing up his satchel and slung it over his shoulder.

At last, they were ready.

Down the stairs and out the front door they crept, taking care not to disturb the other Go-Getters. Hiccup held the door open so that Toothless could lope out the doorway and onto the grass outside. Closing the door quietly behind him, Hiccup hopped off the front porch and expertly hoisted himself onto the saddle.

"This is it, Toothless," Hiccup said with a smile. "You're finally going to see that you're not alone. Next stop, the Isle of Night."

Sliding his foot into the stirrup, Hiccup felt that familiar buzz down his spine as they prepared for takeoff. But this time, the buzz energized him more than ever, and when he shivered, it had nothing to do with the chilly night air.

They leapt into the star-speckled sky, and soon, they had left Berk far behind.

Discovery, drama, and – most importantly – family awaited them.

* * *

As planned, the entirety of Team Go-Getters met up at the Dragon Academy bright and early, their saddlebags filled and ready to go. But the longer they sat there on the dragons' backs, the more it became apparent that something wasn't right.

"Where's Hiccup?" questioned Amber, yawning.

A dawning realization rose upon Astrid. It had to be...no, it couldn't! Hiccup wouldn't...would he?

* * *

Snivels woke up sometime after everyone else had left, panic filled his eyes when he realized he was alone in the house.

He cleared his throat. Was it safe for him to talk, yet? Deciding to take a chance, he called out, "Hello?"

Not a single rasp or cough.

But there was no one answering.

He was lucky to notice a small and familiar book sitting open on the table next to Hiccup's bed. After flipping through it – there were quite a few sketches of Toothless inside – Snivels came across a hastily-scribbled map on one of the middle pages. Knowing that it had be the map from Bork's Cave, Snivels headed outside, breathing heavily and talking to himself.

"You're losing it, Snivels, calm down! This is not your fault. All you have to do is tell your friends what's going on, and they'll understand completely that you were only trying to warn Hiccup of what he's headed into. There is no reason to lose your head. And whatever you do, you absolutely, positively, must. Not. Panic."

His walk slowed to a stop as he spoke those last three words. He was quiet for a few brief seconds before he suddenly started screaming his head off and took off running towards the Dragon Academy.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! HICCUP'S A GONER! HE'S A GONER! HE'S A GONER! HE'S A GONER!"

At the Academy, Astrid was the first to hear Snivels approaching. It wasn't that hard, given the fact he was practically screaming bloody murder. "Snivels? What are you doing?"

The Servine prince nearly threw himself at his future trainer-in-law's boots, breaking down completely into hysterics. "It's all my fault! I tried to warn you guys! The medication was too strong!"

Now Blaze was as confused as Astrid was. "Snivels, what are you talking about?"

After taking a few deep breaths, Snivels did his best to try and explain the situation.

"InoticedBork'snotesabouttheIsleofNighthadMildew'sscentonthemandIwantedtowarnHiccupbutthemedicinemademefallasleepandnowHiccup'sheadedtotheIsleofNightaswespeakonlytherearen'tanyNightFuriesontheislandbecauseit'sreallyatrap!"

He was talking so fast, it didn't help the rest of Team Go-Getters understand anything at all.

"Could you start again from that first 'Isle of Night'?" Ninjark asked.

Snivels took in another breath before finally calming down enough to say it outright. "The notes and map are FAKE!"

Astrid couldn't stop herself from gasping out loud.

Heather muttered, "Oh, no."

"I tried to warn you guys," Snivels said, "Hiccup's heading into a trap!"

"Then we need to warn him," Heather said as she and Ninjark mounted Windshear. "And fast!"

Astrid nearly rolled her eyes. "How are we going to find him? He could be anywhere in the archipelago!"

Snivels stood up. "I can track his scent. But we need to hurry, the wedding's in four days!"

All of Team Go-Getters that had been present at the Academy mounted the dragons and took off into the sky in record time. But a single negative thought passed through Astrid's mind as she reached up and grabbed the pendant Hiccup had given her.

Were they too late?

* * *

After flying over the vast ocean for hours – all through the night and well into the morning, to be exact – the water finally gave way to land. The unmistakable features of an island passed underneath Hiccup and Toothless, and they both couldn't contain a shiver of anticipation.

They soared down to land, and they became the first human-and-dragon pair to set foot on the Isle of Night.

When Hiccup walked forward, he noticed that Toothless seemed reluctant to follow. "Trust me, bud," he soothed. "Relax. If my map is right, you're going to like what we find here."

The two of them continued to explore the island, finding absolutely no signs of life except for small bushes and the occasional tree growing out from between the cracks in the rocky ground. The only sounds were the constant lapping of the waves on the coastline, and the wind rustling the leaves on the bushes. Just as Bork's notes said, there didn't seem to be any signs of other dragons living on the island.

Finally, they stopped walking when they came across a downwards slope leading into an ominous-looking clearing. Two huge mountains rose up to block the sunlight, plunging the clearing into shadow. The rocky, uneven terrain was dominated by a natural platform that had a slope retreating back into the shadows. It looked almost like it led into the lair of a beast, a beast that could walk to the top of its platform and survey its territory.

This was as good a place as any to start.

"Alright, you ready?" Hiccup asked Toothless.

The Night Fury didn't make a sound, but either way, he seemed to be encouraging his rider to go on and do what he had to do. Giving him a nod, Hiccup took out his Dragon Whistle and raised it to his mouth.

"Here goes..." he said, and blew into the contraption.

"AAOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

The howl that came from the Dragon Whistle slowly faded into the distance, and was soon replaced by silence, leaving Hiccup with a sense of suspense that felt like it was tearing him apart from the inside. Would this work? Were there really Night Furies here? Was this even the right island?

Right as he was about to try again, a very familiar noise came from the other side of the clearing. There was no doubt about it.

"I can't believe it!" enthused Hiccup. "Did you hear that?"

Toothless nodded enthusiastically, briefly rearing onto his hind legs to excitedly wave his front paws in the air. He threw his head back and let out a roar.

Moments later...

"AAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"

A massive black figure emerged from the shadows.

"Bork was right," Hiccup breathed. Suddenly, he broke into a giddy grin so wide that it threatened to tear his face in two. "Go on! Go get 'em, Toothless!"

Happy to finally hear the voice of another of his species, Toothless bounded across the rocks and landed at the bottom of the slope, wings outstretched to keep him balanced when he hit the ground – but he hesitated. He turned his gaze up to where Hiccup still stood, almost like he was scared.

"Go on!" his human friend said again.

Toothless nodded, and, with his enthusiasm renewed, continued making his way across the clearing to meet the other Night Fury. It was just standing there, stock-still, like it was waiting to see what the newcomer would do...

Suddenly, there was another growl, but not that of a Night Fury. Back on the ledge, Hiccup jumped at the sound and whirled around to see if there was anything behind him. There was – a chimera-looking Pokémon that had a very complex brown helmet masking its entire head. The strange Pokémon settled down under a small tree, keeping its eyes on the leader of the Go-Getters.

"Hold on," Hiccup muttered, "If other species stay away from this island, why would there be a Pokémon here...?"

A horrible feeling flooded through him, bringing with it a hot flash of panic, a desire to run away and never come back. Evidently, Toothless felt it, too. Down in the clearing, he growled and bared his teeth, wings raised threateningly. He slowly backed away from the motionless Night Fury, no longer as trusting as he had been a second ago.

Something wasn't right here.

"Toothless, come back!" shouted Hiccup.

The horrifying and unmistakable sound of a bolas twirling through the air reached Hiccup's ears, and Toothless was suddenly on the ground, roaring and thrashing in an effort to get free. Armored Vikings rushed forward to subdue their prey.

Desperately, Hiccup began to head toward his downed dragon friend, with no rescue plan or escape plan in mind – just the uncontrollable desire to help him. Then, strong hands grabbed each of his arms and forced them behind his back, and the scrawny Haddock boy was pushed roughly onto his stomach.

When he craned his neck so that he was looking forward, his eyes widened when he saw who was standing in front of him.

"Amazingly realistic!" laughed Alvin the Treacherous. "Wouldn't ya say, Hiccup?"

Beside Alvin was his second-in-command Savage, who pushed a Night Fury-shaped statue forward on a set of wheels. It was undoubtedly the same one that had been used to lure Toothless away from his rider. So it had been a clever trap, set up by the Outcasts.

But how?

"What do you want, Alvin?" Hiccup grunted, straining against the weight of the Outcast who held him prisoner.

His arch nemesis let out a hearty guffaw. "I want me own dragon trainer! And by the look of things, I got one."

"Who says I'm going to train your dragons?" he shot back, defiant until the end.

Alvin only smirked and stepped aside, allowing Hiccup to get a good view of Toothless. The Night Fury was muzzled and bound with ropes, making even the slightest movement next to impossible. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself was currently at the mercy of four well-armed Outcast soldiers.

"He does," Alvin replied, his smirk never fading.

The message was obvious – do as Alvin said, or Toothless wouldn't stand a chance.

But how?

That was what Hiccup asked next, the only question on his mind, the only thing he wanted to know. "How did you do this? How'd you know I'd come here?"

He only got another sadistic grin in reply.

Their work done, the Outcasts were preparing to leave the Isle of Night for good. And it was on their ship where Hiccup made a disastrous discovery that shocked him to his core.

Much like the time when the disastrous thunderstorm had hit Berk, and the locals had been frightened into believing anything they were told, Toothless had nearly been bound and chained to the deck of a ship and was ready to be shipped off elsewhere. Only this time, Hiccup was joining the dragon, and they weren't being sent away by their own people.

He struggled to sit up despite the ropes binding his arms to his sides, and managed to prop himself up against the mast. He watched as the Outcasts marched up the gangplank in single file, until finally, he was faced with someone he thought he'd never see climbing aboard an Outcast boat.

It was none other than Mildew, followed closely by his pet sheep Fungus.

"Mildew?" asked Hiccup, eyes widening. "What're you doing here?" He'd assumed that the ugly old hermit had ended up stranded in the middle of the ocean, or even starved to death.

"Ah, look at you," Mildew replied, his voice full of false regret. "The brightest boy on the island, trapped and outwitted by a silly old man and his sheep."

A glint of malice ignited his otherwise dull eyes, and the slightest hint of a smirk caused the corner of his mouth to twitch.

The world began falling into focus for Hiccup, and what he realized made his blood run cold. "How...How could you do this?" he whispered.

Sickeningly casually, Mildew answered him, "It's your fault, Hiccup. You read our false Bork notes, you followed the map, and you walked right into our trap. Alvin wanted a dragon trainer, I wanted the dragons driven off of Berk. And it's all because of your love for a dragon. And this time, your pathetic little snake isn't here to help you."

Suddenly overwhelmed with anger, Hiccup tried in vain to lunge at the new Outcast. "You leave Snivels out of this!"

Finished with the Haddock boy, Mildew walked away with a scornful shake of his head. He grumbled under his breath, "Little good-for-nothing beast."

Hiccup heard what the old man had said about his friend. He wanted to retort back, but he knew it would be in vain.

"Raise the sails!" bellowed Alvin. "We're headed home...to Outcast Island!"

His soldiers raised a hearty cheer of victory and started to ready their ship for the long trip back home.

* * *

Nobody on the ship noticed the chimera-like Pokémon Hiccup saw which provided him with his first clue that things weren't what they seemed on the Isle of Night. The Pokémon's eyes glared through its helmet as it watched the burly Vikings sail off with a restrained Hiccup and his beloved Night Fury friend. It quickly formulated a plan in its head.

Outcasts - attack.

Night Fury - rescue.

Scrawny, helpless hero - rescue and maybe befriend.

The Pokémon rose to its feet and ran towards one of the smaller ships that only had a small handful Vikings operating the vessel. The chimera-like Pokémon jumped onto the stern of the ship, digging its powerful front claws into the wood to keep from falling off. With the small vessel taking the rear, the chances of him ever being spotted were slim to none. Even from the very back of the pack, the Pokémon kept his eyes on the duo it needed to rescue from the dirty clutches of the evil Vikings.

Because that's what he was created for.

* * *

 **Me: Three guesses to what the new Pokémon is. Though I'm sure Double S will be able to figure out in a femtosecond.**

 **Blaze: A what?**

 **Snivels: It's a measurement of time, referring to one quadrillionth of a second.**

 **Ninjark: And who's Double S?**

 **Me: Cottonmouth25. Double S is my way of saying "Spore Serpent," which is another name he goes by.**

 **Ninjark: I think I get it.**

 **Snivels: I hope good old Double S will drop us a review, soon!**


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39: The Synthetic Pokémon

 **Me: Since Team Go-Getters is busy trying to save their leader, this intro will be shorter than usual.**

 **Snivels: Way to tell them the truth, Cait.**

 **Blaze: No more talking, let's go!**

 **Ninjark: Killjoy...**

* * *

It was nearly midnight at the Sanctuary when Verne was visited by Obera. He was right in the middle of telling Toothless's childhood friend, Ebony, about how Team Go-Getters defeated the Red Death before being urgently interrupted.

"Your trainer has been captured by the Outcasts while trying to find more Night Furies," the female Xerneas told him. "Fjord requested that I inform you so that you may go save him."

" _What about Ebony?_ " the Green Scarf-wearing Noivern asked.

"It's time for her to leave the Sanctuary," Obera replied.

The female Night Fury looked alarmed. " _No, I can't...I don't know what's out there!_ "

"Verne will guide you to your old friend," Obera said calmly, "Trust me, young one, you are ready."

It didn't take long for Ebony to realize that Obera truly believed she was ready to leave the Sanctuary and reunite with her childhood friend. Nodding her head submissively, she followed Verne out through the portal Drageist had summoned from the Ice Caves. The Noivern then led the female Night Fury through the tunnels and toward the exit. The next thing she knew, Ebony was looking out at the ocean, which was shining brightly from the full moon.

The female Night Fury sucked in a breath. " _I never realized how beautiful the outside world could be._ "

Verne slowed his pace so that he was flying next to her. " _First time you've seen the moon?_ " he guessed.

Ebony nodded.

Verne gave her a Noivern's smile. " _Just watch this._ "

He flew up suddenly so that his silhouette was highlighted by the moon, showing off his bat-like features. Anyone who'd never seen a Noivern would have thought the shadow had been cast by a dragon-sized bat.

Ebony gave a draconic chuckle. " _I'm not sure I could ever do that._ "

" _Then you should get out more often,_ " Verne replied.

Ebony looked downcast. " _That's what Shadow...I mean, Toothless, used to say to me._ "

Verne nudged her gently with his wing. " _Be glad you'll be seeing him again soon. And don't worry about calling him Shadow, it'll help him recognize you._ "

But even as he spoke with confidence, the Noivern couldn't imagine what kind of trouble Hiccup and Toothless had been lured into this time.

* * *

A terrible squawk echoed throughout the network of caves as a Deadly Nadder slammed itself against the bars of its cage. Hiccup jumped at the resounding *clang* that occurred when scales hit metal, but the dragon didn't make any more threatening moves. It just watched the Outcasts' scrawny captive and his entourage pass by its cage, a slightly menacing look in its eyes.

Hiccup kept walking as Alvin and Savage guided him deeper into the dungeon. "Where's my dragon, Alvin?" Hiccup asked, his voice dangerous. "Where's Toothless?"

Alvin snorted, not convinced by his attempt to be intimidating. "You'll be seein' 'im soon enough, don't ya worry."

There had only been a moment or two of silence when Hiccup spoke again. "I have to hand it to you, Alvin," he said. "Luring Toothless and I to the Isle of Night, building a fake Night Fury...that was pretty good."

Unconsciously, he winced at the memory.

"Heh, 'pretty good', he says," chuckled the Outcast leader. "Rich coming from a one-legged boy."

"But turning Mildew into an Outcast?" Hiccup persisted. "Come on, that's low-hanging fruit, even for you."

Savage started to laugh at Hiccup's sarcastic remark, but Alvin reached back with an annoyed grunt and shoved his second-in-command towards the back, causing him to tumble to the ground. Another *clang* resounded through the tunnel, this time from the impact of helmet on rock.

This time, it was Hiccup who snickered, despite the grim circumstances in which he found himself.

"No one thinks you're funny, boy," grumbled Savage, picking himself back up. "Now get moving!"

His bone club pushed violently against Hiccup's back, making the Go-Getter stumble slightly.

At last, the group of five arrived at their destination. After a long walk through tunnels lined with dragon cages, they emerged from the tight passageway into a huge arena-like cavern not unlike Outcast Island's local dragon-killing ring. Illuminated by torches, and the few moonbeams shining through the holes in the ceiling, it was an eerily quiet and grim-looking place.

Hiccup frowned. "This is strange..." he whispered. "I thought you kept your dragons in the killing ring."

"Oh, we do," Savage chuckled. "We've just got too many dragons to keep them all in there. I dare say we have enough dragons for a whole army!"

If that was true, then that was only one more reason to not teach the Outcasts how to tame dragons.

Just as Hiccup was thinking that, there was a shout from one of the cages, and then answering shouts coming from the tunnel behind them. Four Outcasts stormed into the cavern and headed for the cage, from which more shouts were coming. It definitely sounded like there was some kind of commotion.

Alvin and Savage guessed that, too, and dragged their prisoner along as they went after the soldiers.

Inside the cage, two Outcasts were holding up their weapons to try and repel a monstrous snake-like dragon. The spike-covered serpent hissed at them and clacked its teeth, then plunged its head into the floor and attempted to burrow away from them. However, the thick chain wrapped around its neck and bolted to the wall prevented its escape. Just as the end of its whip-like tail disappeared, the snake-like dragon burst up from out of the ground, knocking the weapons out of the Outcasts' hands.

Now that they had been disarmed, the Outcasts fled for their lives.

In a bored voice, Hiccup asked, "You do know it's going to keep doing that, right? It is a Whispering Death, after all..."

The Whispering Death, meanwhile, busied itself by looping its coils around itself and falling asleep.

Confident that the situation was under control, Alvin led his prisoner over to the next cage. Inside was a giant blue-green Scauldron drinking a large bucket full of water. Once it realized that it was being watched by a group of passerby's, the dragon lifted its head and spat a gush of boiling hot water at them. The stream of hot water made contact with a nearby Outcast, who wailed in pain.

"A Scauldron, impressive," Hiccup remarked. "Might want to cut back on its water supply."

As they moved on from the Scauldron's cage, Alvin muttered, "Write that down, Savage."

"I don't know how to write, sir..." Savage replied, sheepishly.

Two other Outcasts made their way over to another cage, where more Outcasts were yelling and hollering in a frenzy of panic. Mildly curious more than anything else, Alvin dragged his prisoners over to see what all the fuss was about.

A pair of Outcasts, which were quickly joined by their comrades, were gripping their weapons and looking around wildly for something. They were standing inside an empty cage.

"It's escaped again!" cried one Outcast.

Hiccup deadpanned, "Actually, it's right behind you. Changewing."

Right on cue, the invisible dragon made its appearance and shot acid at the four Outcasts, who immediately ran out of the cage and shut the door tightly.

Chuckling, Hiccup said mockingly, "You Outcasts really don't have a handle on these dragons, do you?"

Alvin laughed along with him and clapped a hand to the boy's shoulder. "Why, that's why you're here! Welcome ta yer new job, Hiccup!"

"Job?" the Go-Getter repeated. "As inviting as that sounds, I'll pass, thanks."

"Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup!" Alvin continued to laugh. "Why must you make things so difficult?"

"Trust me, it's not the first time I've heard people ask me that," Hiccup muttered under his breath.

That was when Alvin brought Hiccup over to yet another cage, the biggest of the lot and directly opposite the exit. It was dark inside, but the light from the torches outside still made it easy to see what was inside – dangling from the ceiling in a full-body wrap was a Night Fury. The black dragon's wings were bound tightly to his body, rendering them useless.

"Toothless?!" cried Hiccup, eyes widening. "Toothless!"

Hearing his shout, Toothless's eyes landed on his human friend as he suddenly started thrashing in his bonds. He was flailing around in such a panic that it was strange that he didn't make any sound, at least until Hiccup saw that he had been muzzled.

"I'll get you out, you'll see," Hiccup called out, trying to calm his dragon's nerves. "Hang in there, bud."

But Alvin was quick to contradict him. "He's not going anywhere. Neither are you. You will help me train these dragons!"

"And if I don't?" asked Hiccup.

He spoke those words with unusual bravery, considering the situation. But then again, ever since their first encounter on Dragon Island, Alvin the Treacherous had never really scared him.

That was why he wasn't fazed when Alvin leaned in close and told him, "Then they're no good to me. None of them! Especially yours."

The unfortunate implications of that were crystal clear.

* * *

On the mysterious and (until now) unknown Isle of Night, Team Go-Getters finally landed after a long and tiring flight.

Their dragons were equally as exhausted, having been flying for hours on end. It was only thanks to Astrid, who was carrying her soon-to-be husband's notebook with her, that the group had managed to successfully find the hidden island.

Most of them were well aware of the dangers that came with landing on an island meant to serve as a trap for their unsuspecting leader. That was why they had brought their weapons in case they came face-to-face with one of their adversaries.

"How long do we have until Stoick finds out about this?" Blaze asked no one in particular.

From behind her, Snivels dismounted Buck the Grapple Grounder. "I took the precaution of making sure he'd be busy while we're gone."

* * *

Back on Berk, the sounds of shouting from within the backroom of the forge reached every ear of the villagers. Sadly, no one was able to do anything about it since the entrance doors were all quadruple-locked.

"Snivels, get me out of this thi-Oof!"

In the back room, tied with a series of extra-thick ropes, was none other than Stoick the Vast - currently the victim of a miniature prototype launching mechanism which was repeatedly firing bars of soap into his mouth. Grimacing slightly, Stoick spat out the offending object.

"This isn't funny anymore, you little-Oof!"

Once again, he was interrupted by a bar of soap, which he once again spat out.

"This is not dignified for the Chief of-Oof!"

Spitting out yet another of the foul-tasting projectiles, the large (and possibly overweight) man managed to shout out, "Where did he get all those bars of soap?!" right before he was muffled by another one of said objects.

* * *

Since Hiccup was absent, it fell to none other than Astrid to take command of Team Go-Getters. She turned Stormfly around and faced her friends.

"Listen up," she ordered. "Everyone split up and search each side of the island. If you find anything, use a signal fire from the dragons."

Within seconds, all of Team Go-Getters' dragons took flight and the team began their search.

* * *

Naturally, Hiccup had refused to train the Outcast's dragons.

So, naturally, Alvin did something about it.

Back down the corridor he forced the poor boy, heading back the way they had come. At first, the Outcast leader simply retraced his steps down the same path they had traversed before, but then he turned a corner and led his prisoner into a side tunnel, one lined with more cages. The strange thing was, most of them were empty. Hiccup supposed that this particular part of the dungeon hadn't yet been filled with dragons.

The tunnel wasn't that long, and soon, Alvin had taken him all the way to the end. There in front of them was another cage. Savage walked opened the door and grabbed Hiccup's shoulder, escorting him into the cell. "Can I get you anything?" he asked with mock kindness. "Food...cozy blanket...glass of warm yak milk?"

He shoved Hiccup the rest of the way inside, laughing, "Ha, 'yak milk'!"

Hiccup sat up painfully, his thoughts drifting to the sight of a restrained Toothless. As much as he hated to admit, the dragon was in that mess because of him. His desire to prove that Toothless wasn't the last of his kind was so strong, he'd fallen for the simple trick of fake notes and a fake map. And now he'd ended up getting them both captured and imprisoned by the Outcasts.

Boy, was Astrid going to kill him...

Suddenly, there was a commotion from somewhere outside the cell – more specifically, from somewhere further down the tunnel. Hiccup hadn't even noticed that Alvin and Savage had left, but now, they were coming back. And it sounded like they were dragging another couple of prisoners with them.

One was bleating in protest, and the other had a very, very recognizable voice.

"Alvin!" rasped Mildew, outraged. "I gave you what you wanted! We had a deal!"

Fungus could be heard bleating his agreement.

Then came Alvin's voice. "Well I didn't like that deal, so I changed it."

Shadows danced on the walls of the corridor some time before the trio of Alvin, Savage, and Mildew actually appeared on the other side of the cell. The leader of the Outcasts had a firm hand on the old man's shoulder as he pushed him along, not stopping for even a second as he approached the empty cage across from the one Hiccup was in.

Hastily, Savage got the door open moments before Alvin would have slammed Mildew into it. Instead, Alvin shoved him the rest of the way in, then took a few extra steps forward. Mildew turned around just in time to find Alvin almost on top of him, a meaty hand reaching forward. In the blink of an eye, Mildew's pet sheep was snatched from under his arm with a high-pitched bleat of protest.

"Hey!" shouted Mildew, his own voice becoming pretty high-pitched as well. "What're you doing with my Fungus?!"

Alvin turned around halfway, just to give Mildew a cruel smirk. "Preparing your final meal! Hope you like lamb chops!"

He slammed the cell door shut and walked back down the tunnel, leaving a helpless Mildew to stick his arms through the cage bars and futilely reach out for his pet.

"FUNGUS!" he wailed.

Hiccup almost felt his heart grow cold. He could vaguely imagine Snivels, or another one of his friends, in Alvin's clutches as he could do nothing but watch as he was taken away.

"Berkians..." Alvin scornfully muttered, disappearing from view with Savage on his heels. "Still as soft as the day I left..."

After grabbing at thin air, Mildew slowly slumped against the bars, arms hanging uselessly at his sides. "No..." he whispered. "No, what have I done...?"

Further down the hall, the chimera-like Pokémon from the Isle of Night was watching with narrowed eyes. It had quietly followed them down the tunnels after the small vessel it hitched a ride on docked on Outcast Island.

And it wasn't about to let Mildew's tricks get to Hiccup this time.

* * *

Astrid hadn't been flying for long – with Blaze, Heather and Ninjark at her side – when she suddenly spotted something down below. It was pitch-black, and ridiculously hard to make out in the dead of night, but nothing could hide from the Go-Getter's keen eyes.

"Down there," she called to her companions, "Guys, let's check it out!"

She led the small group down to the ground, making sure to stay a safe distance away from the black object. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to have noticed them, so surprising it definitely wasn't a smart thing to do. No, she wanted to make sure it had plenty of warning, so it wasn't startled into attacking.

Still...something about it seemed off. It wasn't moving at all.

Heather squinted her eyes a little as she and her Frogadier examined the figure in front of them. "Uh, Astrid? I don't think this is a-"

"Night Fury?" the soon-to-be Haddock finished for her.

There was a loud screech, and the moon was briefly blotted out by the Y-shaped form of Folnir. The Yveltal landed next to the spot where the small group was waiting. Kickin' Hawk followed suit.

The veteran Hawlucha approached the two Trainers of Destiny. "Did you find anything?"

"We did," Astrid told him. "A fake Night Fury."

Blaze dismounted the Blue Scarf-wearing Noivern, approached the fake Night Fury, and pulled off a good-sized chunk of the black covering. "This is interesting."

"What is it?" Ninjark asked

Folnir grabbed the piece and examined it. "This Night Fury decoy was made of dragon skin, then covered with ash from a charred Loki tree." He smeared some of the ash on his wings to show the others.

"Never heard of a tree like that," mused Astrid.

"That's because it only grows in one place," said Kickin' Hawk, "Outcast Island."

Silence thicker than the thickest fog settled over the group, and their faces simultaneously changed to expressions of horrified realization. They all knew what the Hawlucha was implying.

"Then that means..." Heather whispered, "Hiccup's on Outcast Island!"

"Hey, guys?"

Everyone turned to see Snivels crouched underneath a nearby tree, surrounded by the rest of the Pokémon.

"You might want to take a look at these footprints."

Within seconds, the entire group was gathered around.

Indeed, there were footprints in the dark sand of the Isle of Night - if you could call it that anymore. But they were far from any set of tracks they'd ever seen. The prints left from the front feet looked insectoid while the prints from the back feet were a set of paws.

An uncertain-looking Snivels sniffed the tracks that had been left in the sand. "I'm picking up traces of all eighteen Pokémon types molded into a single entity. It's not simply a mutation, it's an entirely new Pokémon!"

Ninjark looked surprised. "What kind of sick, twisted mind would intentionally create such a bizarre life-form?"

"Ask Stoick's parents," Blaze muttered.

"May I have a look at those tracks?" Folnir asked suddenly.

Snivels nodded and backed away so that the Yveltal could examine the unusual-looking tracks. After examining them for about a minute, Folnir's eyes lit up with realization.

"Type: Null."

Only Snivels was the least confused to be able to ask. "What and what?"

"A side project of the Resistance," Folnir explained. "The Legendary and Mythical Pokémon were looking to create a kind of Pokémon that could adapt to its surroundings so it could aid us in the fight against the Vikings. After we all gathered the Type Plates, which contained the data of all but one of the eighteen Pokémon types, two Arceus named Archon and Archia used their omnipotent powers to create a new life from the Plates in the form of an entirely new species of Pokémon. We called him Type: Full. But not long after his creation, Type: Full lost control of his powers. He went berserk, destroying everything in his path. We were able to create a helmet that restrained his powers until he became strong enough to control them. After that, we had no choice but to rename him Type: Null. Every now and then, Fjord sends Type: Null out on missions for the Resistance, which would explain why it was here on the island."

"Well, where is it now?" Blaze asked.

"That is the least of your worries."

Nearly everyone froze at the sound of the stony, female voice. Turning slowly, they saw none other than Sarabeth.

The animus Serpeior glared at the large group with her dark, purple eyes.

* * *

Most of the tunnels that made up Outcast Island's expansive underground dungeons were almost dead silent under the crushing weights of despair and hopelessness. But one particular tunnel was playing host to something that was a terrible din in comparison. It was a continuous grinding noise, like stone rubbing up against stone.

In fact, that's exactly what it was. Inside his cell, Hiccup was incessantly banging on the floor with a fist-sized rock, hoping to dig a tunnel under the cage door. In the past hour, though, all he had managed to do was scrape out a depression that wouldn't even hold a dragon's egg.

In the cell across from Hiccup's, Mildew was slumped against the door, looking like he was bored out of his mind. His glazed eyes were trained on the Go-Getter, but with his eyelids sliding farther downwards with each minute, who knew for how much longer that would last?

"Really, this is so hard to watch."

"What?" Hiccup asked.

The old man continued, "You'll never save your dragon by sitting in this cell, digging in the dirt. You need to go get him...and soon!"

"And how do you propose I do that?" the Go-Getter shot back. The old hermit's answer was one he expected.

"By giving Alvin what he wants."

The silence descended once more as Hiccup threw his rock aside and sighed miserably. Now Hiccup was alone, without anyone to talk to – besides Mildew, but the old man was a traitor whether he regretted his actions or not. A terrible feeling settled in his chest, the feeling of hopelessness. Without Toothless, or anyone else, his future looked bleak.

* * *

Even though Hiccup hadn't yet agreed to train the Outcast's small army of dragons, there were still some interesting changes being made to some of the many cages scattered throughout the dungeons.

Alvin and Savage were back in the cavern where they held their toughest dragons, looking into the Whispering Death's cage. The snake-like dragon was thrashing at the ground, trying to dive under – but it couldn't, because a thick layer of metal had been laid down over the stone floor.

"We reinforced the floor with cast iron!" Savage informed his boss, gleefully.

They swiftly moved on before the Whispering Death could take its pent-up frustration out on them. Savage led Alvin over to the Scauldron, which was drinking out of a much smaller bucket of water.

Proudly, Alvin's second-in-command proclaimed, "And this one only gets enough water to keep it alive. "

"Hmm, the boy's proving useful already!" he mused, scratching his beard and nodding thoughtfully. He turned his back on the cage and walked around the cavern with slow, ponderous steps.

"You'd be quite a sight riding into Berk on his Night Fury!" chuckled Savage.

"I would, wouldn't I?" agreed Alvin. "I'd have to change my name, of course. What's worse than 'the Treacherous'?"

The two of them stopped in front of another cage, the biggest of the lot, and the one holding the most impressive dragon to boot. Or, at least, Hiccup's Night Fury would have been impressive if it wasn't slumping lifelessly in the harness that kept it dangling from the ceiling.

"Eh?" Alvin grunted. "What's wrong with the Night Fury?"

The soldiers keeping watch inside the cage turned to him, eyes wide with panic. "He won't eat!" one Outcast explained. "Or...or drink! He hasn't moved in hours!"

That bit of bad news made Alvin grit his teeth in frustration. He hadn't been counting on this – why wouldn't his dragons cooperate? It was understandable, he hated to admit, that they would disobey his battle commands...but now they weren't even eating or drinking to keep themselves alive? What kind of dragons starved themselves to death?

"Keep him alive," the leader of the Outcasts growled. "If he dies, we lose our leverage with the boy!"

The two warriors saluted and cast worried looks at the unmoving Night Fury. The grip on their weapons slackened a fraction as a cold wave of dread and concern passed through their bones.

It wasn't concern for the dragon, but for themselves. They knew perfectly well that if Alvin didn't get his way, then he'd take it out on anyone. And since they were in charge of guarding the Night Fury, they'd be the first to take the blame.

* * *

Another hour had passed, and Hiccup was standing at the door of his cell, ready to try out his newest plan. Of course, it would only work if he could get the attention of one of the Outcasts...

There! At long last, he could hear faint footsteps from elsewhere in the tunnels. It was time to see if giving Alvin what he wanted would be worth it.

"G-Guard!" Hiccup called, putting as much panic in his voice as he could. "Guard, guard! I can't take it! Please!"

The sound of footsteps stopped, then started again, and began to get louder. Soon, a shadow appeared on the wall of the cell, and an Outcast came lumbering around the corner to fix Hiccup in his bewildered gaze.

"I'll tell Alvin whatever he wants to know!" pleaded Hiccup.

"Eh?" the Outcast grunted.

"Please, just let me out of here!" the scrawny boy continued. Secretly, he hoped he looked desperate enough.

Apparently, it was good enough for the simple-minded barbarian. With a shrug, he unhooked a key from his belt and started fiddling with the lock on the cage door.

Behind his back, Hiccup's grip tightened on his prosthetic leg...

The door swung open, and the guard stepped closer to escort Hiccup out. In that moment, the prisoner made his move, striking out as hard as he could with the metal leg. With a cry of pain, the Outcast stumbled several feet backwards and hit the ground on his bottom. But he didn't stay down for long – with a dazed shake of his head and a low grunt, he got back onto his feet and started forward with a menacing scowl, his weapon raised.

Nervously, Hiccup backed away and commented, "That...worked a little better in my mind..."

He backed further into the shadows, shrinking more and more as the Outcast advanced, bulky frame filling up the doorway. The barbarian grinned, raised his arm even further as he readied his weapon to strike, and...

A series of light-blue crescents of aura came out of nowhere, making contact with the Outcast soldier and knocking him out cold. Hiccup turned to see the chimera-like Pokémon he'd first encountered on the fake island, a light-blue ball of aura formed in front of its head.

Type: Null stopped its Air Slash attack, and the aura dissipated instantly. He then bounded over to meet the confused Go-Getter. He gestured down the tunnel with his head, indicating that he wanted Hiccup to leave with him.

Nodding, Hiccup reattached his prosthetic before he began walking down the corridor. However, the duo didn't get very far when a voice spoke out.

"Wait! Take me with you!" called Mildew, suddenly hopping to his feet and grasping the bars caging him.

Hiccup actually laughed. "Are you serious, Mildew?"

"Yes!" the old man insisted. "I know my way around this island!"

Type: Null shifted his gaze to the old man, his eyes glaring.

"Please!" Mildew cried. "We're all in the same boat here, aren't we? At least let me to make it up to you!"

His words did nothing to sway the Synthetic Pokémon. Glaring like mad, he strut up to the elderly Outcast's cell and lowered his head so that he was looking the poor man right in the eye.

"What? Stop that. Don't look at me like that! Let me out of here! Stop glaring at me, you four-legged, hatched-headed _**freak of nature**_ _ **!**_ "

Only after the words left his mouth did Mildew realize that he had dropped the act of a helpless old prisoner entirely. The look on Hiccup's face told the hermit that there was absolutely no way he was being let out of his cell anytime soon.

"I mean...uh...oh..." The old man's shoulders slumped in defeat.

Satisfied, Type: Null backed away from the pathetic excuse for an Outcast and grabbed Hiccup in his front claws. With a yelp of surprise, Hiccup was flung onto Type: Null's back as the Pokémon began bounding down the tunnel towards the nearest exit. The frightened and confused Go-Getter grabbed onto two of the four protruding vanes around the base of Type: Null's helmet for support.

Mildew watched from his cell, dismayed as the duo made their escape.

"Oh, Alvin's not going to be happy about this..."

* * *

 **Me: No, no he's not.**

 **Snivels: Sorry, don't have much time, we've got a lot of catching up to do if we're gonna save Hiccup, so please leave a review!**


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Forever and Always

 **Me: Finally, we've reached the wedding chapter!**

 **Crackers: Then that means Hiccup will be okay, right?**

 **Snivels: You can bet on that, Crackers.**

 **Blaze: Is it really worth placing bets? You know it's going to happen.**

 **Ninjark: Let's just read on, shall we?**

* * *

So far, the escape of their main prisoner hadn't been discovered. Most of the Outcasts were busy trying to maintain order over the feisty dragons, which had started fighting back against their captors for some reason. Perhaps they were simply sick of being trapped in cages barely large enough for them to stand up in.

In any case, there was a dragon that wasn't putting up a fight at all. In fact, it wasn't even moving. And that worried the two Outcasts that had been charged with keeping it alive. This dragon was a Night Fury, and it belonged to Alvin's top prisoner. If it died, then the prisoner wouldn't have any reason to stay on Outcast Island, and Alvin would get mad.

No one liked Alvin when he was mad.

The Night Fury was still dangling from the ceiling of its isolated little cave, held in a full-body harness that prevented any of its limbs from moving. To stop it from biting its way through the harness, it had been muzzled. Its long, injured tail dragged the ground. The Outcasts were nervous to go near the dragon.

Right now, though, they needed to keep the Night Fury alive.

"Try a cod!" one of the Outcasts suggested.

His partner reached into the bucket at his feet and pulled out a large fish. He reached out and brushed it across the Night Fury's snout, smearing slime over the dragon's muzzle. Did its snout twitch ever so slightly, like it was inhaling the fish's scent? The Outcasts couldn't be sure...and it didn't matter anyway, since the Night Fury still refused to move so much as a muscle.

"Is it breathing?" Outcast One asked.

Confused, Outcast Two replied, "The fish?"

"No, you simpleton!" shouted Outcast One, giving his comrade a sharp slap to the back of the head. "I'm talking about the Night Fury! Oh, never mind...we gotta get it to eat, or Alvin will have our heads!"

Outcast Two adjusted his helmet so he could more easily scratch his head. "Uh, it can't eat. It has a muzzle on."

A single beat passed, and then Outcast One's face lit up like a Gobul's lantern.

"That's it, the muzzle!" he exclaimed. "Here, help me take it off. If it dies, then we die too."

Together, the two soldiers approached the Night Fury and tugged on the rope that was holding its mouth shut. It slipped off with ease and fell to the ground, setting the Night Fury's jaws free – but still, it didn't even twitch.

"Oh no..." moaned Outcast Two. "You think we're too late?"

"We can't be!" Outcast One protested. "Come on, give me a hand. We need to take off the harness too, just to be sure."

Trembling with nervousness, their hands continuously fumbled with the harness' straps as they worked on letting the possibly-dead dragon out of its bonds. At last, though, they undid the final strap, and the Night Fury tumbled limply to the floor.

When it didn't immediately move, the Outcasts began to back away as the horrible truth dawned on them.

"Alvin's gonna kill us!" Outcast Two cried.

And all of a sudden, a pair of night-black wings opened, two green orbs opened, and a loud roar echoed through the dungeons.

* * *

It didn't take Toothless long to find the cell where Hiccup was being held. It was in a hallway that was very narrow to a dragon, but Toothless managed to squeeze his way through, following the scent of his rider.

When he got there, though, he paused. An Outcast was lying on the floor, possibly dead, and the cell with Hiccup's scent on it was wide open. Wide open...and empty!

Toothless stuck his head inside and sniffed around for a little. But Hiccup was nowhere to be found.

They must have already escaped. This in mind, Toothless bounded back down the tunnel.

Behind him, the Outcast woke up dazedly and stared after the retreating dragon. He squinted suspiciously...he could have sworn that was a Night Fury fleeing down the tunnel just now.

* * *

It was refreshing to be back outside, under the moon and stars, after being crammed into a stuffy cage for several hours. An unusual duo – Hiccup and Type: Null – snuck out the door and ran ahead to crouch among a pile of boulders sitting just outside. They'd be safe there, but only for a few minutes. They had to get moving.

"Okay, listen," whispered Hiccup as he awkwardly dismounted Type: Null, "I'm not sure what you are, or if you can even talk, but I need your help. Do you know where my friend, Toothless's, cell is?"

The Synthetic Pokémon stood silently, thinking deeply as he scanned the terrain. There were jagged rocks and rugged badlands no matter where he looked, and Alvin's main fortress in the far distance. He knew that, beneath the building's foundations, the dragons were being held there, but what was the fastest way to get there? After much consideration, Type: Null finally deduced where it was. He gestured with his head across a lava field.

Hiccup peeked out from behind his boulder to gaze down at the lava field in question. It was relatively flat in comparison to the rest of Outcast Island, and there were many dragons sleeping and nesting around the ledges there.

But Hiccup wasn't scared of wild dragons. He had tamed a Night Fury, killed the Red Death, and made peace with all kinds of magnificent creatures. A few dragons weren't going to deter him, especially not when his best friend was depending on him.

"Alright then, let's go!" he said, starting forward.

His path was suddenly blocked by Type: Null. The Synthetic Pokémon dug around in the space between the boulders for a bit before gently pushing a handful of multicolored, heart-shaped beans towards Hiccup. Each bean was big enough to fit in the palm of his hand. Hesitating slightly, Hiccup reached down and grabbed a red bean before lifting it to his mouth and taking a bite out of it. To his surprise, it actually tasted pretty good. Well, better than a half-digested fish, anyway. He quickly swallowed the bite he had taken before finishing off the rest of the red bean.

Grabbing the rest of the Poké Beans (that's what he decided to call them), Hiccup stood up and looked gratefully at Type: Null.

"Thanks, I needed that," he said.

Type: Null shrugged, as if to say, "Don't mention it."

The Go-Getter didn't pay much attention him, as he was already starting to climb down the rocks, slowly heading for the lava field below them. When the Synthetic Pokémon followed suit, he looked back at it over his shoulder. "So," he said awkwardly, "Do you have a name?"

Type: Null thought for a moment. He never really considered "Type: Null" to be an official name, more like some kind of code, or the title of a species. He shook his head to answer "no."

"Well, would you like a name?" Hiccup asked.

Type: Null nodded eagerly.

Hiccup looked thoughtful as the two of them stopped walking. "Okay, how about..." He briefly considered Hatchet-Head, due to the Pokémon's appearance. But then he remembered that the phrase had come as an insult from Mildew, so he ruled that out. As his thoughts suddenly drifted to Toothless, Hiccup suggested the first suitable name that popped into his head.

"...Buddy?"

Type: Null looked thoughtful for a few brief seconds before nodding in approval.

That brought a smile to Hiccup's face.

"Hello, Buddy. I'm Hiccup."

* * *

A black shape moved over the rocky terrain like a dark river. It flowed over the rocks and then leapt into a deep canyon, where it would be harder to follow.

Toothless raised his head. It was nice to be outside – much nicer than in the Outcasts' cramped dungeon. But where could Hiccup be? Even with his sense of smell there was no sign of the boy. And he needed to be saved! He was in trouble, but how could Toothless help if he didn't know where to find him?

"There's the Night Fury!"

The sudden shout grabbed Toothless's attention, and he twisted his head around to look behind him. He could see at least five Outcasts coming up from behind. Then more yelling could be heard, and Toothless swung his head around again to find another five Outcasts charging toward him. He was trapped between two groups of weapon-wielding barbarians.

But not for long!

Raising his wings, Toothless belted out a loud roar as he leapt into battle. One Outcast came at him with a sword, but he didn't get a chance to swing it as Toothless lashed out with his tail and batted him aside. At the same time, two more Outcasts ran up from behind and tried to stab him with their own swords, but Toothless's tail whipped out again and threw them into the canyon wall.

His wings swished this way and that as Toothless fought off the Outcasts. Most of the close-range fighters turned and ran.

However, there were still other Outcasts to deal with. One was armed with some bolas, and he chucked one at Toothless's head. If it wrapped around his jaws, then Toothless wouldn't be able to use his teeth or his plasma blasts. But luckily, he heard the bola whistling through the air and reflexively raised his tail to block it.

The bola, a set of heavy rocks tied together with long ropes, struck Toothless's tail. He raised his other front leg and brought it down on the startled Outcast, crushing him into the rocky ground and sending him into unconsciousness. Even as the Night Fury got off of his victim, four more soldiers closed in with their weapons raised. Some of them had bolas in their hands, which they twirled above their heads as they prepared to toss them.

Blue fire gathered in Toothless's mouth, and he let loose with a tremendous plasma blast. It hit the four remaining Outcasts and exploded. Those of which that were still conscious hightailed it out of there, yelling in fear.

The Outcast that had struck Toothless's tail with the bola, though, had started to get up. He saw the weapon of one of his fallen comrades, a sword, and grabbed it. Heaving the blade over his head, he let out a battle cry as he rushed toward the black dragon...only to find that he was no longer there. Before he could stop himself, he ended up running headfirst into a large boulder, and was knocked out cold.

Toothless watched from above the canyon. He didn't have time to battle any more Outcasts. He had to find Hiccup. Yes, Hiccup would know what to do, once he was safe and sound.

Leaving the bodies of the Outcasts scattered around the canyon floor, Toothless continued on his quest to set his human friend free.

* * *

Things couldn't have gotten any worse for Team Go-Getters. First, their leader falls into a trap set by Alvin and the Outcasts, and now they were facing a crazed animus Serperior that wanted them all dead.

"You know you're outnumbered, Sarabeth," Astrid said bravely, "We can face you anytime."

"I'm not interested in you, Spikey," snapped the animus Pokémon, "I want my nephew."

Astrid looked down at her spiked skirt. "Spikey, really?"

Snivels stepped forward. "Relax, Ast. I've got this."

The Servine prince made his way out to the open, where his maternal aunt was waiting. "No magic," he said, pausing briefly for effect, "No enhanced abilities. No weapons. And no allies. Just two Pokémon battling it out like the old days."

Sarabeth narrowed her purple eyes. "Very well," she hissed.

Both Pokémon charged forward to attack one another, Snivels with Cut and Sarabeth with Aerial Ace. Both attacks made contact, but ended up even matched. Snivels came right back around, this time with Leaf Blade. But Sarabeth countered with Vine Whip, which grabbed her nephew by the tail and flung him into a nearby boulder. The Servine expertly angled himself so that he bounced back off the largest boulder. Sarabeth tried to block him with her tail, but he still managed to hit her with Cut.

"Your efforts are futile," the Serperior hissed.

"So is saying 'your efforts are futile,'" Snivels muttered.

Jumping back, he tried another Leaf Blade. But Sarabeth blocked it with her tail. Hoping to wear her out, Snivels went into a series of back-to-back Leaf Blades. Sarabeth dodged and blocked most of them, but a few strikes were enough to slow down her movement. Finally, one powerful Leaf Blade made contact with the animus Pokémon's head.

Reeling back from the force of the blow, Sarabeth's eyes suddenly lost their purple aura, changing back to normal, red Serperior eyes. Sarabeth blinked a few times in confusion before realizing what had just happened.

"You broke my connection to the Dark Matter," she whispered in amazement. "I'm free."

Snivels didn't hear her. And Sarabeth didn't realize he had been charging a Solar Beam until she was hit with it. When the smoke lifted, Sarabeth was out cold.

Snivels then ran back to where his friends were waiting. "We should get going."

Within seconds, all of the dragons were airborne with their respective riders.

Sarabeth managed to regain consciousness a little and watched as Team Go-Getters left the island. Memories of her actions from the past year came flooding back to her.

"Almighty Arceus, what have I done?"

* * *

Hiccup and Buddy walked quietly and carefully through the lava field. All around them were wild dragons – most of which were asleep, but some glared at them as they passed by. No matter whether those glares were out of wariness or just general hostility, it was clear that Hiccup and the Type: Null were not welcome into their midst.

"Don't make any threatening moves," the groom-to-be said to himself, cautiously casting glances at each dragon he passed. Buddy stuck close to him, clearly much more frightened of the dragons than he was.

For the most part, the wild dragons let them pass as long as they kept their distance. Three times, Hiccup thought that one of them was going to attack. The first time was with a territorial Monstrous Nightmare guarding its nest, and the second and third times both involved a Gronckle that was briefly mistaken for a boulder that they accidentally came too close to.

The dragons were definitely territorial, and without a doubt, hungry. But none of them were interested in fighting a talking fishbone and a chimera-like Pokémon. That is, until the duo was almost out of the lava field.

They had almost made it to the other side of the field when there was a deafening roar that froze the duo in their tracks. Without any further warning, a wild Deadly Nadder stomped out from behind a boulder and confronted them, raising its tail threateningly.

Buddy froze in place, hoping that the dragon couldn't see him if he didn't move. But Hiccup had a different plan. "Okay," Hiccup whispered, mostly to Buddy rather than himself. "The last thing you want to do is threaten him. Try to approach him calmly."

The seconds ticked by, and slowly, the Nadder stood down with a wary growl. It didn't see any pointy things being pointed at it, so to speak, but still...you could never be too cautious with humans.

Hiccup began to move closer to the dragon, which was now on the defensive. "Come on, you can trust us. That's it...we're not here to hurt you. That's it, big fella..."

Incredibly, the Nadder appeared to be calming down. It was still cautious, but Hiccup's soothing gestures and friendly words were doing the trick. The bird-like dragon was no longer postured for attack.

 _Very impressive_ , Buddy thought to himself.

That was when the groom-to-be made his final move. Ducking his head so as to look less threatening, he reached out with a hand, stopping a mere inch from the Nadder's muzzle. It examined his hand for a couple of seconds, then closed its eyes and nosed its snout across the gap that separated them.

For Hiccup, they were alone in that single moment. It was just him and the Nadder, sharing a bond.

The bird-like dragon, its curiosity of its new friend satisfied, left Hiccup's side to investigate Buddy. It bumped its nose against the Synthetic Pokémon's helmet, who edged away out of fear for his safety. Buddy stiffened and held his ground sternly, the breath of the Nadder tickling his neck. The dragon circled him and bent its head down until it was level with his, which only freaked him out more.

"He's only getting to know you," Hiccup explained to him. "Just try to be more relaxed."

Buddy didn't move in response to groom-to-be's comment.

The Nadder suddenly licked him.

"See," said Hiccup, "He wants to be friends!"

Buddy just rolled his eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid was tirelessly leading an exhausted Team Go-Getters towards Outcast Island. She was determined to save her soon-to-be husband, and nothing was going to get in her way now.

Except maybe one thing.

"Astrid, we need to land!"

Astrid shook her head. "Blaze, Hiccup's in danger! We don't know what the Outcasts are doing to him, and the wedding's due any day now!"

"What about Stormfly?" the female Blaziken said, gesturing to the Deadly Nadder. "She's exhausted! We all are! We need to stop and rest for the night. It's what Hiccup would do."

Indeed, the blue Nadder's wingbeats were getting slower and slower as she tried to fight the urge to doze off.

Astrid sighed as she realized that her Pokémon partner was right. "Alright, we'll stop on the next island."

Everyone behind her let out a loud sigh of relief.

Blaze smiled at her trainer. "Good call."

The next island they happened upon was rather medium-sized, with plenty of trees and rocks. That was their rest stop. After landing on the island, even Folnir collapsed with exhaustion and quickly drifted off to sleep. The younger Pokémon, including Blaze and Kickin' Hawk's children, followed suit.

Snivels suddenly noticed that Astrid wasn't with them. He and Blaze scanned the sky in case she flew off by herself to save Hiccup, but relaxed when they saw Stormfly searching through the bushes for her rider. The dragon's nose picked up the familiar scent, which led the group into the forest.

Snivels eventually found her out on a nearby bluff, her back to him as she looked out at the moon all by herself.

"What are you doing way out here?"

Astrid didn't bother to look over her shoulder at the sound of the Servine's voice.

"I know what you're thinking," Snivels said sadly, "That this whole mess is my fault because I failed to warn you guys about the map being fake before Hiccup left for the island with Toothless. Well, I'm not going to correct you, because it is partially my fault. But Hiccup isn't in this mess because of me, it's because of all of us. We all had a part in this, and now we're gonna fix it. And we can't do that if you're being irrational about all of this. No offense."

Astrid sighed. "No, I'm with you on that. I just...I just hope he's okay."

Snivels then rushed back to the camp once more and grabbed Hiccup's notebook, which they had used to find the fake island of Night Furies, and immediately ran back to where Astrid was. After turning to the page he was looking for, the Servine prince handed her the book.

"I think Hiccup would have wanted you to see this."

Hesitating slightly, Astrid took the book and started reading the writing on the page Snivels had turned to. She could tell the handwriting was Hiccup's, but it was what was written that genuinely shocked her.

 _What a way to end off today. Winning in Dragon Training, finding the dragon's nest and gaining a friend who supports me. But I never would have thought Astrid would actually kiss me. Well, I have thought about it, I just never thought it'd actually happen._

 _I can't believe it did._

 _I'd be lying if I said I wasn't that into her. She's everything I've ever dreamed of being. Strong, brave, tough as nails, and a true warrior at heart. She's practically my hero. She's the reason I kept picking myself up off the ground every time I failed. She's the reason I tried so hard to fit in with everyone in the village. I wanted her to notice me, to help me, to be my friend._

 _I'd just begun to think that maybe I didn't deserve that._

 _I guess I couldn't have been more wrong._

 _Ever since the day we met, I've had feelings for Astrid. I just never realized until most recently that it was because I loved her. Not just for the way she looks, but for who she is. Even if she never feels the same way, I can't help but fall in love with her over and over again. But if she's happy with being a shield maiden, then I won't stand in her way. She's worked so hard for that, and I'd never force her to do anything she didn't want._

 _I can only wish I had the courage to tell her how I feel. How seeing her just brightens up my day. How I've looked up to her all these years. How I will never let go of how I feel, no matter what she chooses to be._

 _I love you, Astrid Hofferson. Forever and always._

Astrid couldn't help but tear up as she read the last of what had been written on those pages since the night she'd first discovered Toothless and Verne.

"I saw him writing it after we returned to Stoick's house," Snivels said after noticing her reaction. "There was so much he wanted to tell you, and I swore to keep it a secret. Just, until the time was right."

Astrid smiled and wiped away her tears, silently hoping that no one else had seen it. "Thank you, Snivels. I needed to see that. Hiccup never gave up on his friends, he always found a way out of every mess. But I forgot to acknowledge the needs of the rest of my friends. I guess I'm not like Hiccup."

"Astrid."

The soon-to-be Haddock turned to see Blaze approaching.

Astrid closed the notebook she was holding before trying to apologize to her friend. "Blaze, I...I..."

She didn't get the chance, as the female Blaziken sympathetically hugged her trainer. Astrid hugged her friend back gratefully.

"We're going to save Hiccup," Blaze said, ending the embrace to look her trainer in the eye. "And we're going to do it together."

All Astrid could do in that moment was smile gratefully at her friend.

* * *

After their encounter with the wild Nadder, Hiccup and Buddy continued to trek across Outcast Island. Twice now, they had needed to hide from Outcast patrols. Hiccup guessed that, by now, they had found out about the escape and were searching for him.

"Alvin's fortress has got to be up ahead," Hiccup said as he mounted Buddy to save his own energy.

As it turned out, Hiccup was spot-on with his theory. When Buddy slashed through the doorway of the fortress with Crush Claw and headed down the sloping tunnel on the other side, they found themselves in the middle of the dungeon. Specifically, they found themselves in the same area where Alvin was keeping Toothless!

"I'd hug you in gratitude if wasn't for that helmet of yours," Hiccup told the Type: Null.

Hiccup steered Buddy over to where Toothless's cage was. But when he looked inside, Hiccup gasped and slid off of Buddy's back, running forward to grab at the bars.

The cell was empty.

"Toothless is gone!" Hiccup said, horrified.

All of a sudden, his attention was drawn to the sound of a cage creaking open. Both Hiccup and Buddy whirled so that their backs were to the cell – and then they saw the Changewing slinking toward them, its belly scraping the ground as it stalked forward. More cages opened, and the color-changing dragon was suddenly joined by a frustrated Whispering Death and a seriously angry Scauldron. The three dragons stalked forward hungrily, too hungry to think of anything but hunting down a meal. Buddy stood in front of Hiccup protectively.

But why were the dragons suddenly escaping? The duo didn't have to look any further than up near the cave ceiling. There stood Alvin the Treacherous, an evil grin on his face as he removed his hand from the lever – a lever that presumably allowed him to open the cages safely.

"Oh, this isn't gonna be good," Hiccup muttered, crouching closer to Buddy's back. The Type: Null rattled his helmet in reply.

Alvin ignored the Pokémon's complaints– he only had his eyes on the most valuable of the duo. "Let's see what you can do with real wild dragons, Hiccup!" he challenged. "I see you tamed that freak of nature, so try your luck with these ones! I see your life depends on it!"

The terrible trio continued to advance, their muscles all tensed and ready to pounce. The Changewing twitched its tail, the Scauldron opened its jaws wide and let out a growling hiss, while the Whispering Death clacked its teeth and spines together, making them clatter loudly.

"Buddy," Hiccup spoke up, taking a single pace backward, "Whatever happens in the next minute, do exactly as I tell you."

The Type: Null in question nodded.

Almost as if in answer, the Changewing spat a giant glob of acid. Buddy ducked, and the corrosive fluid just barely grazed his helmet on the way down.

Quickly, Hiccup jumped on top of Buddy. Just in time, too – the Whispering Death hissed, then shot forward with its fangs gleaming in the dim light. At a nudge from Hiccup, Buddy charged forward and swung his front claws, giving the Whispering Death a good taste of Crush Claw. The snake-like dragon went flying backwards onto its back.

The Scauldron attacked next, shooting a torrent of boiling-hot water out from its jaws. Hiccup urged Buddy out of the way. Luckily, Buddy's agility allowed him to safely leap out of the way of the boiling-hot water, which ended up demolishing a cell door.

They might have dodged the Scauldron, but Hiccup and Buddy now found themselves too close to the Changewing for comfort. However, before it could attack, an Air Slash from Buddy just barely missed the Changewing's feet, scaring the color-changing dragon away for the time being.

Buddy charged forward at a kick from Hiccup's heels, making a mad dash for the cavern's exit. Behind him, the Whispering Death suddenly shot out of the floor, and immediately burrowed back under once it realized it had missed its mark. The Changewing reacted to the sudden movement and pounced, only to end up in a dragon pile with the other two dragons. The three reptiles slashed at each other in anger, distracting themselves from their current task.

Buddy and Hiccup disappeared into the darkness that shrouded the exit tunnel. They left the Outcasts behind them, as well as the roars and shrieks of the angry dragons. Those horrible noises reverberated down the tunnel and made the duo shiver.

For the second time that day, they escaped.

* * *

When Hiccup and Buddy emerged from the tunnel and came out into the open, they had to shield their eyes from the unexpected light. To their surprise, the sun was already up, casting a cheerful glow over everything in sight. Now that they were able to see, the two friends made their way across the uneven, barren land of Outcast Island without any hesitation.

They hadn't been traveling for very long – only a minute or so, in fact – when they saw something flying toward them. It was a dragon of some kind, with blue scales and spines lining its tail. Whereas Buddy couldn't quite identify it, Hiccup recognized it instantly as Stormfly, the dragon companion of his bride-to-be.

And even better than that? When they looked harder, they saw that Snivels, Blaze, Heather and Ninjark were coming too, and behind them was the entire company of Team Go-Getters!

"Oh good," sighed Hiccup. "We're saved."

Stormfly landed first. The Deadly Nadder's feet had only just touched the ground when Astrid dismounted the dragon, calling Hiccup's name.

Equally as overjoyed to see his fiancée again, Hiccup hopped down from his position atop Buddy and ran to give her a heartfelt hug. She threw her arms around him and squeezed him so closely that he could feel her heart frantically beating against his chest and her headband digging into the side of his neck.

"Astrid," he said with relief. "I was beginning to think I'd never see you again..."

"Shut up," Astrid told him. "You're ruining the moment. Oh Arceus, I'm so glad you're alright..."

Then, perhaps because she thought it was a bit awkward hugging him in front of everyone, she pulled away from him and swiftly punched him in the shoulder.

"Let me guess, that was for getting kidnapped by Alvin," Hiccup said dryly.

"You know me so well," his fiancée replied, flashing him a grin.

"Well enough to know what's coming next," he agreed, grinning back.

She didn't bother saying anything in response, just grabbed him by the shirt and brought him into a kiss. He thought he heard Heather whistle, but if he was being honest with himself, he was way too preoccupied with what was happening at that moment.

They pulled apart at the sound of growling. They both turned to see Buddy giving Astrid a hostile look. Hiccup quickly threw himself in front of the Type: Null. "No, Buddy, it's okay! She's my..." he paused to think of a word Buddy would understand before finishing lamely, "...mate."

Buddy clamed down significantly at that.

"Guys, this is Buddy," Hiccup said as he turned to face his friends. "He helped me escape from Alvin. I...I owe him my life."

A stunned silence fell over the group.

"That's Type: Null for you," Folnir stated.

"I'll explain everything later," Hiccup went on. "Right now, I have to get to Toothless."

Astrid rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's too risky, Hiccup," she told him. "Alvin's not going to take any chances if he captures you a second time. You'd better bring Toothless to you."

While at first Hiccup was confused by her words, he soon figured out what she meant. He extended his hand, and she dropped a Night Fury-shaped Dragon Whistle into it. With a grateful smile, he took the whistle and held it to his mouth – and blew.

"AOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!"

The last echoes of the roar faded away into the distance, and silence once again descended. Everyone looked around, their ears open for any sort of reply. Would Toothless hear the call?

* * *

Toothless had been wandering around Outcast Island all night, and still hadn't found any sign of Hiccup. Luckily, after that last confrontation, he hadn't encountered any more Outcasts either.

He raised his head, surveying the area and, finding nothing, allowed his tail and head to droop hopelessly. Was Hiccup still on the island? What if Alvin had taken him elsewhere? What if he was dead?

Then, the roar of a Night Fury came from out of the distance. It was very faint, but Toothless instantly knew what it was – it had to be Hiccup!

Unless it was another Outcast trap...

No, that was nonsense. It had to be his rider.

Toothless bounded out of the canyon and began to gallop toward the source of the noise, roaring at the top of his lungs. Hiccup would hear him, and then they would be together again.

* * *

An answering roar came in response to Hiccup's call. There was no doubt about it – Toothless had heard.

It wasn't Hiccup who first saw the telltale patch of black squirming through a narrow gorge, but Astrid. When she saw movement below, she instantaneously recognized the familiar form of Toothless.

"There he is!" she announced.

Hiccup mounted Buddy and steered him into the canyon. The Type: Null landed at the bottom of the crevice. If Toothless was thinking of attacking the unusual Pokémon, those thoughts were tossed out the window when he saw his rider rush to greet him.

"Toothle-AAAGH!" shouted Hiccup, as Toothless pounced on him. He started to laugh as the black dragon's tongue flicked across his face over and over again. "Are you alright, bud?"

Toothless stopped licking his human friend and grinned, telling him that everything was just fine.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Hiccup murmured. "It's my fault we're here in the first place. If I hadn't believed the fake map and led us right into that trap...Wh-What is it, bud?"

Indeed, the time for blaming himself was not now. Toothless had raised his head and perked up his ears, growling hostilely as if he detected an enemy nearby. At the same time, the dragons of Team Go-Getters that were perched on the edge of the cliff above began to act the same way as Toothless, shaking their heads and growling amongst themselves – they knew that something wasn't right.

And indeed, something wasn't.

On top of one of the cliffs in the near distance, a duo of hulking figures appeared, a couple of figures that Team Go-Getters knew all too well – Alvin the Treacherous and his Dusknoir, Eidolon. The Outcast leader carried a hideous-looking weapon that was kind of like a axe and kind of like a sword, but at the same time it didn't really look like either of the sort.

"HEY THERE! STUPID BOY!" the Outcast leader bellowed, loud enough for everyone to hear. Of course, it was Hiccup he addressed. "You weren't thinking of leaving before we'd finished our business, were you? That's what I'd expect out of a useless little runt."

His words sparked something in Hiccup. It was anger. It wasn't something he normally felt, but the things that Alvin had done were unforgivable. The groom-to-be wasn't going to leave and let his archenemy run free to commit more unspeakable crimes. He was going to end this.

Hiccup was officially fed up with Alvin. He mounted Toothless.

"Don't you dare –" Astrid warned, but was cut off.

With a mighty *whoosh*, the Night Fury spread his wings open and launched himself into the air, flying straight for Alvin.

"Hiccup, no!" shouted Snivels. "It's a trap!"

Too late.

Multiple bolas, thrown by the soldiers that had hidden in the crevices between the rocks below, struck their targets easily. Toothless' wings and limbs were once again bound to his body, and he plummeted. Hiccup couldn't move, bound to the saddle with bola ropes. Dragon and rider tumbled to the ground, stuck together and completely helpless to prevent the Outcasts from closing in on them. They were doomed.

"Saddle up, Go-Getters!" Astrid ordered, throwing her arm out to the side to emphasize her point.

"Wait!" cried Snivels. "Do you guys hear that?"

Everyone fell silent in an attempt to hear what Snivels was talking about. A soft shrieking noise was approaching, growing louder as it got closer. A few Outcast soldiers recognized it instantly.

"NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!"

A powerful plasma blast shot out, making contact with a couple of Outcast soldiers and their Houndoom.

The rest of the Outcasts had already begun to surround their prisoner, grinning with anticipation and triumph. But that was when another screech ripped through the air, and to Hiccup's shock, another Night Fury descended upon them!

Powerful sound waves rained down from the sky as a Noivern attacked, launching back-to-back Boomburst attacks. Fearful of getting hit, the Outcasts bunched around Hiccup and Toothless for protection – because the dragons wouldn't attack their friends, right?

The Noivern whooshed past, making the Outcasts whip around in fear as they tried to track the speedy Dragon-Type. While the soldiers were confused, he unleashed a powerful Boomburst that scattered them, away from the helpless Go-Getter. They covered their ears in vain, and Hiccup wished he could do the same as the noise blasted through his eardrums.

Then, before the Outcasts could regroup, Sarabeth suddenly appeared slithering over the ground and spreading a powerful Leaf Storm. When the Outcasts had been fully enclosed by the flurry of leaves, the Noivern hit them with a Dragon Pulse. The ground rocked from the force of the explosion.

Snivels was the first to notice that the Noivern was wearing a Green Scarf. And that meant only one thing.

"Guys, it's Verne! He came back!"

"With another Night Fury," Hiccup whispered in amazement. "That must be why he left - to find Toothless a mate!"

Sarabeth had another go at the Outcasts, coming dangerously close to her opponents as she used another Leaf Storm to blow them away. At one point, she found herself beside her confused nephew. She turned to face him.

"I'm not what you think I am," said the animus Serperior. "You need to listen to me, just for one minute, and I'll explain everything."

Snivels nodded silently.

"When Solidago married my younger sister, I was happy for her. And I always enjoyed spending time with Salvia and her new family. But not long after you and your siblings had hatched, I started hearing these voices in my head. They all came from one being that called itself Dark Matter. It told me that it had the power to give me everything I wanted. I tried to force it away, but I couldn't, it was too strong, too powerful. It took over my body, forced me to do things I'd never imagined I would do. When I heard that my sister had been killed, I was sure that had lost everything I ever loved. Every time I see you, I'm reminded of what happened then. There wasn't anything I could do to fight back against the Dark Matter. Until you...you, Snivels...you gave me that hard blow to the head with your Leaf Blade, and you severed the Dark Matter's connection to me. You freed me from its control. You, Snivels...you pulled me from the abyss."

Snivels was stunned speechless. Sarabeth was still a part of the royal family, so the oath of honesty applied to her as much as it did to him.

Sarabeth gazed down at the ground sadly. "I didn't choose to be this. To be a heartless monster. I've said and done terrible things to you and everyone you love, and I've spent countless nights wishing that I could take it all back."

She lifted her gaze so that she was looking her nephew in the eye. "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I just want you to understand."

Snivels's eyes glistened with unshed tears. All that time he'd believed he was fighting his aunt, when he'd really been fighting a being of darkness. A being that he knew very little of, but knew he had reason to fight against. He gave a slight nod.

"I forgive you."

Smiling, Sarabeth went to rejoin the fight that was still ensuing.

Verne swung his head this way and that, blasting Outcasts into the air with Dragon Pulse. The so-called warriors ran away from the powerful blasts, which Verne and Ebony repeatedly launched into the ground as they charged forward.

As Alvin watched his warriors fall before the might of the dragons and Pokémon, his anger grew until he couldn't hold it in anymore. "DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF?!" he raged, and rushed into battle.

Instantly, Buddy and the other Pokémon of Alola were coming for him. They alternately shot leaves, air, poison, water, rocks, fire and dragon power at the huge man, trying to keep him at bay. But their efforts weren't enough – Alvin dodged most of the blasts and Eidolon swatted the rest away with his large hands. Alvin's eyes weren't even on the Pokémon that were assaulting him. He was totally focused on capturing Hiccup and Toothless, and claiming them as his own once more.

Verne couldn't allow that, though, and plunged down from the sky. His black skin flashed blindingly in the sunlight as his talons plucked Alvin right off of the ground! He flew higher, and higher, and higher...and then he reached a point where he couldn't make progress with such heavy baggage. So he made a logical decision, and let Alvin go.

The Outcast leader dropped like a rock, right on top of his Dusknoir.

While all this was going on, Buddy approached Hiccup and Toothless. The groom-to-be watched with utmost fascination as the Type: Null sank his claws into Toothless's sides and pulled as hard as he could, slowly but surely cutting through the ropes that held the helpless Night Fury – and his rider – together. Once they were free, Hiccup and Toothless went to join Team Go-Getters.

"We need to get out of here! The Outcasts are coming for us!"

"And miss our chance to get Alvin back for what he did to us?!" Folnir demanded.

"In our own time!" Kickin' Hawk shouted.

The first Outcast had just appeared when Team Go-Getters took off. Their dragons lifted off again, this time with their leader flying safely on his dragon's back, and away from the barren island wasteland. The Pokémon of Alola all hitched a ride on Torch and his Typhoomerang family as Snivels jumped from Buck's back onto Verne's. Hearts soaring as they climbed higher into the yonder, the teens (plus their Pokémon companions, old and new) urged their dragons to go faster, not wanting to spend another second anywhere near Outcast Island.

"Wait a moment!" Snivels shrieked. "Guys, we forgot Sarabeth!"

Verne turned around and started heading back to Outcast Island before anyone could protest. Indeed, Snivels's aunt was still there, fighting off the remaining soldiers.

"I'll hold them off!" she shouted at her nephew. "Get out of here while you still can!"

"I'm not leaving you behind!" Snivels shouted back, loyally.

"It's the least I can do to make up for what you have gone through, just go-"

She was cut off by a crossbow arrow impaling through her chest, courtesy of Alvin the Treacherous.

Then a loud scream shattered the air. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A distraught Snivels watched helplessly as the now-lifeless body of his aunt slumped to the ground.

Snivels urged Verne to fly faster, but the Noivern pulled back, flinging Snivels off of his back and into his talons as he turned around to join the rest of Team Go-Getters.

Snivels struggled in vain against Verne's grip. "She needs me! Let me go!"

Nobody spoke a word for the entire flight to the Ice Caves. Once again, the gang was flying away from Outcast Island with a casualty. Except this time, there would be no rescue later.

Now that he was family-less, a traumatized Snivels was carried to the Ice Caves by a very sorrowful Noivern.

* * *

Back on the island, Mildew was brought before the waiting Outcast leader. His mouth set in a stoic line, he awaited the words that he expected weren't long in coming.

They weren't. "Well, well!" Alvin chuckled, making a gesture with his hands. "If it isn't the poor old man I was counting so much on."

Mildew felt the Outcast tighten his grip on his hands. He rolled his shoulders in an attempt to get rid of the pain of having them twisted behind his back.

"Those Pokémon are too smart, Alvin." he grumbled.

"I don't want you excuses," Alvin said with a snarl. "Though you do have a good point. Now tell me, Mildew. What was it that helped Hiccup get out of our dungeons?"

Nodding, the old man replied, "A freak of nature, really. Never seen any Pokémon like it."

A bleating sound drew Mildew's attention. From behind a rock scuttled his pet sheep, looking perfectly fine and happy to be reunited with his keeper again. Alvin hadn't really cooked the poor animal – it had all been part of a ruse to tempt more information out of that stubborn Dragon Conqueror.

"Ah, there you are, Fungus," Mildew cooed. "Sorry your part was all in vain, old chap."

Alvin shifted his attention to Sarabeth's dead body. "At least I've got something new to decorate my mantelpiece."

They started the long walk back to the stronghold. There was much work to be done.

* * *

The sun outside was setting when Hiccup and Team Go-Getters finally reach the Ice Caves.

The flight from Outcast Island had taken most of the day, and the following hours had been a blur. They were all welcomed by Legendary Pokémon they had met before, and many that they had never even imagined. Two Kyurem, one normal colored and one Shiny, approached the amazed Hiccup and Astrid.

The normal-colored Kyurem bowed his head slightly. "Hiccup, Astrid, I'm glad to finally meet you in person."

Hiccup gave a slight bow in return. "Hi. You must be Fjord. We've heard a lot about you."

Fjord chuckled. "I'm sure you have." He then shifted his gaze to the Shiny Kyurem standing beside him. "Now, I'd like you to meet my mate, Rei."

The Shiny Kyurem bowed down low. "It is an honor to finally meet you two young heroes."

Hiccup and Astrid could do nothing but smile.

Fjord lifted his head and spoke to everyone in the room.

"The wedding is on!"

Really, it only took them a few hours to set up the preparations. Since the Celebration Hall had already been pre-decorated, and the food all cooked to perfection, all that was left was to get the bride and groom ready.

Now, Astrid was never a fan of dresses, so the Legendary Pokémon didn't force her to wear one. Instead, she was given a beautiful ceremonial cape woven with soft fur, decorated with a symbol resembling a Deadly Nadder. Hiccup was given a similar cape, this one decorated with a symbol resembling a Night Fury.

Meanwhile, everyone else in the Celebration Hall was looking to find the right seats. It was delayed for a short while as Verne reunited with his beloved Wavern and saw his children, Ruido, Onpa and Laetio, for the first time. The Green Scarf-wearing Noivern also took the extra time to offer a nervous Ebony a seat next to him and his family. There was also some confusion between Ninjark and Captain. "Which side do we sit on, groom or bride?" the Quilladin had asked.

Snivels and Toothless were waiting patiently at the altar as Hiccup's best men, while Blaze and Stormfly waited on the opposite side of the altar as Astrid's bridesmaids. Fjord was standing before them as the officiator, just as he said he would. Hiccup climbed the steps of the altar nervously, and Snivels gave him an assuring pat on the back. The Servine needed to be strong here, and not mourn the loss of the one remaining member of his birth family.

Finally, the wedding began.

Astrid entered the room with unexpected grace and elegance, even though she was still wearing her armor. She walked down the aisle with her head held high, meeting the groom's loving gaze. Hiccup's smile widened when he noticed she was still wearing the pendant he had given her - she hadn't taken it off since the day she had received it.

"This is so romantic," Amber squealed quietly as she watched Astrid approach the altar, where Hiccup was waiting for her.

The groom offered his hand, and she took it, climbing carefully up the steps of the altar. After sharing a loving look, the two faced Fjord.

"My dear friends," the Kyurem announced. "We are gathered here today to witness the union of these two young heroes. As the almighty Arceus look down upon us from above, I, Fjord, stand before you as your friend and ordained minister. Never in the history of the archipelago has there ever been a love so strong, so powerful, yet it started in one of the most dangerous of circumstances. These two standing before you have proven to us that love surpasses all differences, all flaws, all faults."

He turned to the bride. "Do you, Astrid Hofferson, take this young man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Astrid didn't hesitate to answer. "I do."

"And do you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, take this young woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

He was so lost in his bride's eyes, he didn't hear Fjord speaking. He probably would have stood there forever if Snivels hadn't nudged him gently.

"That's your cue."

"Huh? Oh! Yes, I...I do!"

Fjord chuckled. "In that case, may I have the rings, please?"

Snivels and Blaze presented the rings from the pillows that had been precariously placed on Toothless and Stormfly's backs. The two Pokémon handed the rings to Fjord, who in turn handed them to the bride and groom. Astrid's ring was the same one Hiccup had proposed with, while Hiccup's was a simple gold band created by a Heatran named Hephaestus in the Resistance Forge. Both rings slid onto their respective fingers with ease.

"By the power vested in me," Fjord continued, "And all the other Legendary and Mythical Pokémon that are present, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss..."

"Wait."

Hiccup's eyes widened in horror at his bride's sudden objection. Before he could ask, her fist suddenly made powerful contact with his arm. Biting back a cry of pain from what was probably the hardest punch he'd ever received, Hiccup tried desperately to recompose himself. "Yeah, I guess I deserved that."

That made everyone laugh.

Still chuckling, Fjord quickly calmed himself down. "Now, you may kiss the bride."

They didn't need to be told twice. Wrapping his arms around Astrid's waist, Hiccup gently pulled her towards him before meeting her lips, kissing her firmly, yet gently. Astrid giggled against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck, winding her fingers into his hair, kissing him back with as much love and passion as him. They ignored the cheers of everyone in the hall, and the slight tug on their necks as Toothless and Stormfly used their teeth to pull their ceremonial capes off to symbolize the marriage becoming official. And they certainly weren't aware of the brief conversation between Xylia and Ninjark.

"I never knew he had a thing for her."

The Frogadier looked at his girlfriend with mild surprise. "Seriously?"

The Grovyle chuckled. "No, I'm just kidding. Everyone knew!"

Finally, the bride and groom pulled apart, but they never took their gaze off of one another.

"Well," Hiccup said softly, "That was worth the wait."

Astrid smiled. "Yes, yes it was."

"I love you, Astrid."

"I love you, too, Hiccup."

Fjord then raised his head, a proud smile on his face.

"Members of the Resistance, I present to you, Hiccup and Astrid Haddock, co-leaders of Team Go-Getters!"

* * *

The celebration that followed was one to remember. Everyone approached the newlyweds to congratulate them, some of them also apologizing to Snivels for his earlier loss. But the Servine just shrugged it off.

"There'll be another day for mourning," he said.

Across the hall, Toothless and Ebony bounded around one another in a playful manner, happy to see each other again.

The newlywed couple watched their friends mingle and frolic about the room before shifting their gaze back to each other. By chance, Astrid glanced down to find that the pendant she was wearing had magically changed. Instead of a Viking coin, it was now a golden cross-like wheel. Astrid lifted the pendant so she and Hiccup could examine it more closely. They suddenly noticed Fjord standing before them.

"A gift from Archon," said the mighty Kyurem, gesturing to the transformed necklace. "It is the symbol of Arceus, and the official mark of the Resistance. Wear it proudly, for it symbolizes your alliance to us."

Astrid silently nodded in thanks.

Smiling, Fjord left the newlyweds to join in the feast that had started.

Astrid lowered the pendant and shifted her gaze to her new husband. "Finally, we're together."

Hiccup looked at her hopefully. "Forever?"

Astrid smiled. "Forever and always."

* * *

 _A family isn't just something you're born into. It's also the friends who stood with you, and the ones who fought by your side._

 _You know that you'll be there for them, and they'll be there for you...for the battles that are yet to come._

 _I wouldn't trade my family for anything in the world._

 _Would you?_

* * *

Fjord continued to watch the festivities later that night, alongside Drageist the Giratina.

"You know," said the Renegade Pokémon, "There are still many dangers out there they don't know about. The Dark Matter's attack may have been postponed, but they'll still need to face it at some point. Once they leave Berk three years from now, they'll be on their own."

Fjord pondered Drageist's statement before suddenly coming up with a solution. "Maybe not."

Drageist looked at Fjord with curiosity.

"I know a guy," the Kyurem said.

* * *

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Me: Finally, Season One is DONE!**

 **Snivels: That. Was. AWESOME!**

 **Blaze: Can't argue with that!**

 **Ninjark: And the TV movie is next!**

 **Me: Stay tuned for Across the Distortion World, and until then, leave a Review!**


End file.
